


We could be happy together

by WestAllenDreams



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Multi, Mystery, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:08:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29204103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WestAllenDreams/pseuds/WestAllenDreams
Summary: Barry and Iris meet in their last year of university. For a while, things are going great but Barry refuses to meet her father and doesn't want her broadcasting their relationship. She doesn't want to be clingy but she senses that Barry is hiding something. Barry is scared of dragging Iris into his dark family past. Things are not all what they seem and Barry may not understand his past as well as he thought. It might take a tenacious reporter to uncover the secrets that may finally set Barry and his father free. But how far back will Iris have to go to get the truth? Further back than the birth of Barry?
Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West, Barry Allen/Patty Spivot, Caitlin Snow/Hunter Zolomon, Eddie Thawne/Iris West, Henry Allen/Nora Allen, Ronnie Raymond/Caitlin Snow
Comments: 14
Kudos: 46





	1. When Barry Met Iris

**Author's Note:**

> So I just wanted to write a story that really focused on Barry's family and how the death of Nora would play out in the real world with similar stakes at hand. It can get extremely lovey-dovey between Barry and Iris as I switch perspectives. I am naturally a very awkward person so I am not good at writin my characters any other way. You have been warned.

"Damn," Iris said as she ducked her head pretending to be looking anywhere but straight ahead. "He caught you staring again?" Linda asked.  
"Yep. Could I be any more pathetic?" Iris replied.  
"Well, maybe you should go over there and talk to him," Linda replied looking around. Iris and Linda had been stuck in the line for the bathroom for the last 10 minutes. Iris hadn't noticed but Linda had, Iris was too busy staring at the cutest man alive.   
Linda sighed and said just for Iris to hear "Maybe there is a bush I can piss in somewhere."  
"Uhhh I don't think that is a good idea. Plus it's against the law." Iris replied.  
"Well thank you, Detective Daughter but we have been standing in this line for too long and even if it started moving it would still be forever until our turn so what do you want me to do?" Linda asked exasperated and starting to do a dance that showed just how antsy she was. Iris paused for a second but Linda interrupted her thoughts "Look I know you have a perfect view of the lanky man meat over there but the sooner I pee, the sooner we can get you dancing with him."  
Iris sighed and then looked over at the green cute man and saw he was dancing with a blonde girl. The girl was clearly not that great at it but he seemed to be enjoying himself and her company.  
Linda started walking to the front of the house and after a beat, Iris followed. 

* * *

Iris kept watch while Linda peed in the bushes on the side of the house. Iris had been to her share of house parties when she was in high school but as she got older, the university house parties changed as well. She liked it, it made it fun to meet people. Like the tall cute green-eyed guy from earlier. Linda reading Iris' mood started to speak.  
"Look I wish I could tell you that that the girl he was dancing with was probably his friend but you and I know better than anyone how white boys in college can be," Linda said.

Iris sighed. She knew alright. All too well. Linda and Iris were the only women of colour at the school paper and one of 10 people of colour in their Masters class, in a class of 110. Look it's not like the university itself was racist but between unaffordable tuition and legacy admissions, the university had made a systematic attempt at making sure only the "cream of the crop" got in. Well, that's what Iris thought until she got here, she then realised that places like these are just breeding grounds so that the rich can get richer and those who weren't spent their time either trying to play along for approval or keeping their heads down and doing what they need to get out of here.

This obviously made dating extremely complicated because Iris didn't think that dating someone who comes from a rich family was a bad thing, the problem was the family itself. Iris remembered when her first boyfriend in college brought her to meet his parents, they were shocked, to say the least. To say the most: They hadn't expected the pride of the Thawnes, to bring home a Black girl with a scholarship from a single-parent household to their 4th of July weekend. It was horrible. Iris had spent so much energy trying to get them to look passed her race that by the end of the weekend she was exhausted and to be honest, it was the beginning of the end for her relationship with Eddie. As he tried to remain blind to his parents' microaggressions, Iris felt smaller and smaller, until she blew up at him. After the fight Iris cried on Linda's shoulder who then told her about a guy in her high school who had done the same thing to her, the truth is, that Linda knew Iris was not mad at Eddie. She had every right to be but she was really mad at herself. She had allowed herself to be in that situation, sure she loved Eddie but she needed to love herself more. Forgiving herself was not easy but trusting someone with her heart like that was difficult and honestly, never happened again. 

* * *

Iris was starting to think she had the worst kind of luck. 

After leaving Ronnie Raymond's party 3 weeks ago, Iris was now seeing the cute guy everywhere. And she means everywhere. The first time was when she was coming out of the library. Iris liked to study until late because then she could listen to loud music and no one would complain. Her dad, Joe West, always thought how crazy it was that she could blast Paramore and write a beautiful essay on The Color Purple at the same time. As Iris stretched, she looked to her left and there he was, using one of the other desks. She was so shocked, she blinked a few times to make sure it was real. He must have sensed her looking cause he looked up at her and smiled. She instinctively smiled back. She tried to focus on her article after that but she was just to weirded out by his presence so she packed up and left. 

The next time Iris was following down a lead on someone in the Chemistry building and there he was in a lab coat laughing it up with the same blonde girl from the party. Iris knew she was being ridiculous but she was so embarrassed so she did what she thought was the best thing to do. She ducked under the table. It was childish and dumb, she knows but she panicked. The longer she crawled on the ground, the weirder she felt. Eventually, she realised how ridiculous she was being and that she should get back to following her lead, so she stood up and there he was. Right in front of her. 

He smiled at her and said "Hi."  
"Hi," Iris said shyly.  
"Were you just under the table?" He asked her.  
"Uhm, yeah. I- I lost an earring." She said as she grabbed her naked earlobe.  
"Oh... Did you lose both of them?" He asked concerned.  
Iris tried to keep her cool, she was a reporter after all "Uh No, I just took the other earring off cause I've been looking for a while."

Iris started seeing him around the library at the same time as her, at the same desk and each time he would smile and wave at her. As if they were friends or acquaintances, it was weird. Eventually, she got used to studying with him there it was happening so much. 

* * *

Iris walked into the library expecting to see the cuteness monster at his desk but he was not there, instead he was standing at her desk holding two coffees. 

He smiled at her "Hi."  
"Hi."  
"So, I see you here at the library all the time and I thought I should get you coffee, cause I get some for myself on my way here and I thought it would be nice." He handed one of the coffees to her.  
"Thank you, this is very nice." Iris smiled but ducked her head to avoid his eyes.

Iris had been studying for a while when she checked her phone and realised how late it was. It was also when she noticed the writing on the coffee cup that had been sitting on the desk for a while. Iris turned the cup around to see the rest of the big letters of the name on the cup: BARRY. She hadn't realised she had said it out loud until the cuteness monster looked up and said "Yeah"  
"Uhm, nothing I guess I only just saw your name on the cup," Iris replied softly.  
"Yeah I was wondering when you would say something, I was starting to get suspicious you didn't care what my name was." He smiled shyly.  
"I mean I wondered..."  
"But never asked?"  
"You could have asked me for mine."  
"I could have if you would talk to me long enough for me to ask."  
Iris felt like she had been caught "You're right. I'm sorry, I have just never dealt with a guy who is so eager to be friends before."  
Barry's smile faded a bit and then asked: "What makes you think I want to be friends?"  
"Listen if you're one of those guys that enjoys flirting with other girls, while their girlfriend waits for them to call just know that I am not interested in being a third wheel to whatever situation you got going on."  
Barry stared blankly at her for a moment "I don't know what you talking about"  
"Oh, really the blonde in the lab coat I always see you with. The one- The one you were dancing with at Ronnie Raymond's party"  
Barry got red and ducked his head.  
Iris took that as the perfect time to exit.  
"Wait. Wait. I didn't realise you had seen me dancing with Caitlin at Ronnie's party."   
"Is that all you're gonna say for yourself?" Iris asks him now more confidently.  
"No. Listen. Caitlin's just my friend. We take some of the same classes, like Biochem and Organic Chemistry but thats it."  
Iris folded her arms  
"...And the party. That was just- that was just Caitlin being insecure. Ronnie, her boyfriend, is one of the few engineering guys who's also a jock. Caitlin's always felt confused that he was interested in her. We usually never go to his parties but Caitlin overheard one of the other girls in class talking about how some of the cheerleaders have a bet about who can get Ronnie to cheat on his girlfriend. She was panicked so she decided to go to the party but of course, we all had to go for moral support. I wasn't the only one who danced with her Cisco and Hunter did too. Although the Hunter dance didn't last long because Ronnie got mad and came over."  
"Did they fight?" Iris asked him curiously.  
"Caitlin and Ronnie did but they also worked it out. When Caitlin's not being an insecure mess and Ronnie's not being a hothead, they're actually a pretty solid couple. Very Mom and Dad vibes."  
"I see..."  
"So... Now can I get your name?" Barry asked with a hopeful glint in his eyes.

  
"Uhm, I don't think so," Iris said as she quickly made her way out the library...


	2. When Iris Met Barry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things pick up from Barry's perspective as we go through his emotions from his stale encounter with the beautiful mysterious woman (Iris).

To say Barry was gutted would be an understatement. I think the only emotion that he was experiencing more than sadness was embarrassment.

Barry honestly had thought the universe was trying to send him a sign. He had spent 5 and a half years at this university and couldn't believe he had never seen her before. She was gorgeous so when he started seeing her everywhere on campus, he naturally thought the universe was trying to give him a sign. So for the first time since high school, Barry mustered up the courage to make a move on a girl, he was sure was out of his league. 

But she turned him down. He could crawl into a hole and just die from the embarrassment. What was he thinking anyway? Getting involved with a girl like that? Any woman that gets near him is going to run from the hills when they find out what his father did to his mother. Allegedly. But convicted.

* * *

"She didn't exactly turn you down," Cynthia said as she ate more fries.  
"She didn't want to give Barry her name. Even after he made sure she knew that he was interested in her as more than a friend." Cisco said grabbing his fries out of his girlfriend's hands.  
"Exactly." Barry said, "Clearly she's just not interested."  
"Maybe but you never actually flat out asked her out. So technically she never flat out said 'No'." Cynthia said standing up to head to the fridge.  
"I don't need to be returning to her with more opportunities for her to shut me down," Barry said.  
"So you're scared?" Cynthia asked.  
"Look it took a lot for me to even get to the point where I could even think about asking her out, the fact that I even asked her name is more than I would have done years ago," Barry replied.  
"So you're scared?" Cynthia asked again. This time with a raised eyebrow.  
"Yes! She's perfect and probably has it all together I don't want to darken her world with my past anyway." Barry felt a heaviness in his throat as he said that and then he became red realising that maybe he had said too much.  
Cisco sighed and turned to Cynthia "Babe, give me and Barry 5 minutes please."   
Cynthia stood up and left the room.  
"So dead Mom being used as an excuse again?" Cisco asked with a raised eyebrow

Cisco and Barry had known each other since they were teenagers, back when Barry moved to a new middle school right after his Mom was murdered. Barry had moved in with his aunt, his late mother's younger sister. It was not without a fight though. Barry's father's side of the family fought for custody or for some form of visitation rights but considering they were also fighting his father's murder trial, Barry's custody fell through the cracks. Barry will never forget the day before his father's trial began, his father gave him his watch, it was a family heirloom and represented society of families who helped build Central City and Star City. I think his father knew how it was going to go. The Allens had lost custody of Barry and he was going to be moving with his aunt Susan to a new town and new school. His aunt Susan was 10 years younger than his mother but she often joked about how until his mother met his father, Nora was often mistaken for the younger sister as when she was in her youth she lacked direction. Barry loved those kinds of stories about his parents but he didn't hear them anymore.

When Barry got to his new school, his first thought was to keep his head down. That was until he met Francisco Ramon. Cisco was a huge nerd like him but unlike Barry, Cisco was confident. In Cisco, Barry found a personality soulmate, they were both huge nerds who often fought about Star Trek vs Star Wars supremacy, both of them were great singers with a love of the sciences. It was a friendship match made in heaven. Cisco never judged Barry about his past. Half of Cisco's family were criminals themselves, it's why a lot of the parents didn't mess with the Ramons. They were too scared but also too scared to admit they were too scared.

Barry's aunt Susan was not a big fan of Barry visiting his Dad but brought him on Henry's birthday every year until the 5th anniversary of his mother's death came around. Barry was so excited to go see his father but when he returned home, he saw how sad his aunt was and how much it took for her to have to take Barry to see the murderer of her big sister every year. So he never asked to see his father again. I mean Barry still wrote to him but as the years went on, it became clear that Barry holding on to his Dad and this sense of innocence, he had no way of proving, was unhealthy and stopped him from actually getting over his mother's death.

Honestly, if it wasn't for Cisco, Barry would not have made it through high school. Cisco had a way of knowing when Barry was at his breaking point emotionally.

"I thought I could be with her Cisco," Barry said strained.  
"Yeah, but to be fair. You said the same thing about Patty." Cisco replied.  
"That was different. Patty and I had an understanding. We were not serious and then all of sudden she's asking to meet my family and trying to get me to play golf with her father. What was up with that?" Barry asked.  
"That's called the natural progression of a relationship Barry. You dated her for a year. After 6 months most people start thinking long term."  
Barry sighed. Cisco put his arm around Barry's shoulders "Look maybe Cynthia's right. You seem sprung on this girl. If she's the one for you then maybe you shouldn't give up."  
"How am I supposed to do that without a name?" Barry asked his friend.  
"Just keep being the nice sweet Barry Allen that for some reason girls love and I'm sure you will have her eating out the palm of your hand." Barry buried his face in his hands at the cringeworthiness of Cisco's words.

* * *

Barry was entering the Chemistry building when he saw her again she was so beautiful it took him an extra minute to notice she was being escorted by building security. 

"You are in a lot of trouble Ms.," one security officer said to her.  
"I told you already. I'm meeting a source for a story. How was I supposed to know the Chemistry building is access controlled?" She asked.  
"All of this will be solved when you tell us which student you are meeting here."  
"I can't tell you that. It's part of a reporter code of honour." She said and then shuffled around.  
Barry listened to her outside the office and he was so impressed by her convictions.  
"Ms, I don't care what story you are writing but I need to make sure that you are not trying to commit a crime in the building that is all."  
Barry could hear the hesitation in her voice when she said: "I can't tell you who the person -"  
"It's me," Barry said appearing in the doorframe.

* * *

Barry walked awkwardly from the security offices, with her. She kept her head down, which allowed Barry to glance at her frequently.   
"I really do have an informant in this building." She said speaking finally.  
"I'm sure," Barry said.  
"Thank you for saving me back there." She said finally stopping to look him in the eyes.  
"It's no problem." Barry sighed and then turned to look at the other end of the hallway. "Do you want to see something cool?"  
"Sure." She answered a tad bit hesitantly.

Barry lead her into a small empty lab.   
"So what do you usually do in here?" She asked curiously looking around.  
"Just experiments and tests. Every once in a while, someone will try to make a new kind of alcohol. It never goes well." Barry replied.  
She smiled and Barry couldn't help smiling back at her. Her smile got bigger and then it dropped. She briefly looked over at his wrist and then took a deep breath.  
"It was your watch." She said.  
"What?"  
"Your watch is what threw me off... before."  
"Why?"  
"It's a family heirloom right?" She asked and Barry nodded.  
"It represents a society of old rich white families who control almost everything in the state."   
"Yeah definitely old, definitely rich, definitely white." Barry nodded along.  
"Yeah, families like that don't really like girls like me." She said shrugging "In fact, I know they don't" she finished.  
Barry sighed and then said "Well you would know better than I would. I barely know that side of the family"  
"But the watch-"  
"Was given to me after my mother died, before my father... left. I was raised by my mom's younger sister. My aunt." He finished.  
"I'm sorry," She said as she buried her face in her hands "I judged you. I didn't even know you. Seeing that watch triggered a bad memory and I've been regretting how I've treated you ever since."  
"It's fine. If you don't want me to wear the watch I won't wear it." He said like it was the easiest thing in the world  
"No, Barry don't be ridiculous, you can wear your father's watch. I just need to work through my issues."  
"Okay. I'll be here." He had taken a seat on one of the lab chairs but somehow he was still taller than her. He loved it.  
"I'm sorry about your mom."  
Barry dropped his head "It's fine."  
"No, Barry I unde- I'm sorry." She had put her hand on his shoulder at this point. Barry stared at her hand and then at her eyes. She understood his grief. He could see it in her eyes. She had experienced it too. 

Instinctively Barry laid his hand over hers on his shoulder. For a while, Barry watched her as she stared at their hands. It seems like she was thinking about something. He didn't have the time to ask what about because at that moment she looked him dead in the eyes and said "My name's Iris"  
"Beautiful."


	3. Two First Dates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Iris are finally having their first date. Iris is nervous and excited. Let's see how it plays out. Things get a bit heated towards the end there.

Iris fiddled with her hair one more time when Linda walked into her room, closing the door behind her.

"Phew. You look good. That lanky boy out there doesn't stand a chance." Linda said smiling at her.  
"Really you don't think its too much?" Iris asked. She wore her favourite white belted Jumper Dress that she had to wear with stockings and ankle boots because of the weather but she was damned if she was not going to wear something short on her first date with Barry.  
"No way Iris. That being said, you could wear that denim jumpsuit from last year and he would still have all the heart eyes for you."  
"You will never let me live that horrible jumpsuit down."  
"Never. You get punished for punishing my eyes."  
Iris and Linda stared at each other for a bit and then burst into laughter.

When Iris went to go greet Barry she was not expecting him to bring her flowers. He was so sweet. He looked up and saw her. The look in his eyes, Iris felt like she could swim in the feeling he was giving her forever.   
"You look gor- stunning." He said and then handed her the flowers "These are for you."  
The flowers were yellow Iris', she put her face in them to get the scent.  
"They smell lovely. Thank you," she said smiling up at him.  
They looked at each smiling for what must have been a while cause Linda cleared her throat and took the flowers from Iris "I will put these in the vase by your bed."  
"Thank you," Iris said to Linda.  
Iris grabbed her jacket and Barry escorted her out her apartment to his car. It was a nice car, from what Iris could tell she was really good with cars like that. You could tell it was new though.

Once both her and Barry were in the car. She actually took the time to look around and said "Wow this car is nice. Is it new?"  
"No, I've had it for two years now."  
"Really? But it's so clean." She was shocked  
"Well, I can be a bit of a neat freak. My aunt Susan was a bit of a slob and it drove me up the wall." Barry said putting on his seatbelt and Iris did the same. She also made a mental note to clean up her room whenever Barry came over. If he ever came over. Oh who was she kidding, she's been ready to jump his bones for the last two weeks.  
Barry turned to her with his key in the ignition and asked: "She would get going?" Iris nodded.

Unfortunately, that was right when Barry's phone began ringing.  
"Oh sorry, let me just put this on silent." He said.  
"No, Barry answer the phone. I can get out if you need privacy" Iris said casually reaching for her seatbelt. Barry put his on her hand and said "No, I can get out. It's just Cisco, he probably just wants to check-in."  
Barry answered the phone and got out of the car. Iris just stared at him as he paced on the phone with Cisco.

Barry spoke on the phone while Iris did some mindless snooping. Barry still had CD's she laughed out loud when she saw the Singing In the Rain musical soundtrack but just then Barry got back into the car. The look on his face was nervous and Iris began to feel the same.  
"You're gonna have to cancel aren't you?" She asked him.  
"No, not cancel. Just delay for an hour or two tops." He stated with his head ducked down.  
"Barry it's fine if you have something to do, we can reschedule."  
"Iris I- I want to have dinner with you tonight. You look too good to go back inside and I've been thinking of nothing but you since I first saw you." His neck blushed red a bit but he stayed looking in her eyes.  
Iris sighed and then said softly "Okay... but if you keep talking like that we're not going to make it to dinner cause I'm gonna have to jump you right here in this car."  
"What did you just say?"   
"I'm guessing you want me to come along while you run your errand?" She asked him.  
Barry shook his head a bit and then focused on starting the car "Yeah but it's just on campus at the Biology building."

* * *

"Iris... Iris"  
Iris slowly opened her eyes, the light in the lab was still so bright, she wondered how long she had been asleep. When she and Barry first got there it seemed like whatever they needed him for would be a quick fix but science is rarely that easy and Iris found a comfortable chair in the lab to take a seat in. She must have dozed off at some point. It was a little past 1 am and any thought of having a nice dinner date when out the window.

The walk to the car with Barry was very quiet, she wondered if she had offended him somehow. Iris was a smart girl but there were different kinds of smart and her smarts usually did not include any of the sciences. Maybe Barry thought she found what he was doing was boring, that's why she slept.

Barry and Iris sat in the car, in front of her apartment silent for a little while. Eventually, Iris couldn't take it anymore and asked: "Barry are you mad at me?"  
"What?" Barry looked at her surprised.  
"I just thought that maybe, you were offended when I fell asleep."  
"Iris we were talking and arguing about Biology for 5 and a half hours. Of course, you fell asleep. I'm just embarrassed that I made such a big deal about not cancelling the date earlier to only have you endure all of this."  
"Barry, it's really okay. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't want to." She hesitated and then said, "I like you."  
"I like you too."  
Iris leaned over to his side of the car "Can ask you for something?"  
Barry leaned down to her "Anything."  
"A kiss."

Barry's eyes went wide and for a moment Iris felt a bit uneasy but then Barry reached over with his hand and gently guided her face to his. Their lips only touched for a second when Iris felt the spark down her spine. His lips were soft, a bit dry but when he backed away Iris disappointed. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and kissed him, longer this time. Eventually, they had to come up for air but only for Barry to start kissing her on her neck. Iris was trying really hard to not get lost in the sensations he was causing but as she scraped the back of his head, Barry let out a groan and Iris felt the vibrations all the way down her body. She doesn't remember how it happened but somehow Iris found herself on Barry's lap grinding on him and kissing him uncontrollably. It started to get out of control and then by mistake, the car horn went off. Of course, the neighbourhood dogs starting going crazy and Iris and Barry were shocked to find the position they were in. 

"I- I should probably get inside," Iris said softly trying to manoeuvre herself back to her side of the car and trying to ignore the impressive hard on Barry was sporting beneath her.  
"We can reschedule for next week?" Barry asked her.  
"Yes. Call me." Iris made a quick jump to get out the car while she still had her very wet underwear on.

* * *

Iris chose their next first date: Salsa dancing. Honestly, Iris just wanted an excuse to grind on him all night. They laughed and spoke about how much they liked each other's taste in clothes, food and drinks. If you would look for them later that night, you would have found Iris underneath a shirtless Barry, scratching up and down his back as he pumped himself into her. They're lips only parting to moan and take in breaths. Iris had never experienced such a want for someone like this before. It was hot and sweaty in all the sinfully pleasurable ways her aunts told her it would be like when she met the right guy. 

After they had climaxed Barry stayed on top of her, kissing her and putting his forehead on hers. They breathed each other and began giggling at the position that they found themselves in. It was such a good feeling.


	4. The Future is the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Iris have been together for 5 and a half months now. Things are getting heated but also complicated. Barry's holding back and it could lead to conflict.

It's early in the morning. Barry can feel the sun coming through the window on his back, crawling up to his head.

Barry has Iris pressed down on the bed, her underwear disposed of somewhere on the floor, her knee is hitched over his shoulder as he eats her out. Barry can honestly say that he has never been more eager to have his mouth on someone before. He has dated in the past but the pure heat he feels from Iris' particular arousal is something that he has never experienced. Iris was staying over at his place for the weekend because he barely got to see her over the last month as she and Linda were working on their last edition of the university newspaper. It was being released on Monday and Barry was sure that this was going to get her internship at any of the news outlets she applied for.

Unlike in most things, Barry likes to take his time eating Iris out, he knows it drives her crazy but he can't help it. She smells so good, she tastes amazing and the look of her writhing from his touch is unmatched. His hands wander up and down her thighs, squeezing them. He keeps her open with his shoulders and presses his hand down on her when she starts jerking against him. He tongues her through her first climax and he climbs up her body, pressing wet kisses to her hips and the space between her breasts before taking her right nipple into his mouth. Iris grabs a hold of his head and brings it up to hers and their lips meet. Her mouth opens, allowing him to slip his tongue in. Their tongues fight for dominance before Iris moans and says "Bear please, I can't take much more of your teasing."

Barry smiles as he reaches for the condoms in his bedside table drawer. He can get a hold of the box and holds up one "It's the last one.". He makes quick work of putting the condom on and as he slides into her they both moan. Iris hitches legs high around his hips as he pins her to the bed, their hands bound together, atop her head. Their fingers are threaded together and her headscarf comes loose as their movements cause a rocking motion, that leads her breasts to bounce in that perfect motion that makes it impossible for him to resist as he starts kissing and nibbling around her nipples. As Barry can feel Iris near her climax from the tension in her grip on his thighs, Barry lets go of their hands and kisses her everywhere, her cheek, her forehead, the corner of her lips and her eyes. He takes her face in his hand and watches her as she climaxes and then his climaxes soon thereafter.

* * *

They take separate showers to keep from touching each other as there are officially no condoms. The kissing on the sofa soon gets out of hand and Iris says "We're gonna have to stop..."  
Barry continues kissing her neck "I know just a little more."  
"Barry..." she whines.  
"Okay okay, maybe I should make a quick run to get condoms."   
"Or we could never have to worry about condoms."  
"Wait I thought you went off birth control?"  
"Yeah I went off the pill because it was messing with my hormones, therefore, my emotions but there are other forms of birth control"  
"Are you sure you want to do that?"  
"I mean yeah. We are in a committed relationship, we get tested together. So it's not a big deal." Barry tensed but Iris must not have sensed it cause he kept his poker face up as she continued "I mean my gynaecologist was saying that's it actually more responsible this way because what happens when we are intoxicated and/or don't have condoms around?"  
Barry flinched thinking about Cisco's birthday party two months ago where Barry and Iris got a little too drunk and had unprotected sex in Cisco's brother's, Dante, bathroom. It led to Iris and Barry having to make the weird hungover trip to get the morning-after pill, the next day.  
"We don't have to make any decisions about this right now though?" Barry asked her  
"No, but promise me you will think about it?"  
Barry nodded and then forced a smile before getting up and getting something to drink.

* * *

After getting back from dropping Iris off back off at her apartment, Barry sat back down on his sofa exhausted. 

It wasn't that Barry didn't want to be with Iris long term but he didn't think it was fair to think that far ahead without Iris knowing the truth about his parents but he also wanted to give their relationship a shot. The stigma surrounding children with incarcerated parents is extremely real. Barry's experienced it one way or another. It's not like his father was in jail for tax evasion or selling drugs. His father was in jail for stabbing his mother to death while he slept soundly upstairs. That information always led to weird responses in women, sometimes fear sometimes sympathy but it never led to relationships, so he stopped disclosing it.

Back when Barry was dating Patty, he relented and went golfing with her father, one time, only for Charles James Spivot to tell him he knew about his father.   
"You don't think I would research the kid my daughter is dating?" he had asked him while walking to the next hole.  
"Look, Sir, it's not what you think."  
"Don't look so worried Barry. I like you, you seem like you have a good head on your shoulders and besides your father, your family seems like good people."  
"I mean my dad is good people."  
"He killed your mother because she might have been cheating on him."  
Barry clenched his fists and looked at the ground.  
"Oh please tell me you are not still that 10-year-old boy, who told police that his daddy would never do it? Tell me you've grown up." Mr Spivot asked sternly.  
Barry was hurt and offended but he still said: "I have grown up, Sir."  
Mr Spivot patted Barry on the back and said "That's good son. The last thing my daughter needs is a man stuck in their childhood hopes and dreams."  
"Does Patty know?" Barry asked  
"No, but I don't think you should tell her anyway. I mean I wouldn't."   
Barry forced a smile and spoke less and less the rest of the day and had little to eat during lunch. When Patty said how much of a good time her father had had playing golf with him and was trying to organise another game, Barry promptly broke up with her. He did not like Patty enough to keep this going or to put up with her father.

Barry always knew that people thought that his father killed his mother but for him the reasoning and timing never made sense. His mother wasn't cheating on his father and his father wasn't the aggressive type. His father was well built yes, but he mostly did that because heart conditions ran in the family. When the trial started, the prosecutor got new evidence one day that Nora had been visiting with an old highschool boyfriend a week before her murder. To Barry's knowledge, his mother had only had one boyfriend before his father and according to them, he was insignificant in comparison to Henry. Barry knew how much his mother loved his father, it just didn't make any sense but that plus the physical evidence was enough for the Jury to convict him after only 30 minutes of deliberation. It was heartbreaking.

Barry just needed time to get Iris to fall in love with him before he dropped the information. It felt like manipulation but to him, it was the best strategy he could think of to have a shot at their relationship long term. Especially when Iris told him her father worked with the police. There was only one group of people who stigmatised people in his situation more than regular people and it was the police.

Barry knew he was in love with Iris but Iris seemed hesitant. When Iris and Barry got dragged along to go camping Barry was hesitant. "It just reminds me of my father that's all." he had told her.  
"I'm sorry. But you can't be afraid of doing things just because they may remind you of the past." Iris said as she stepped into his space, he put his arms around her and she looked at him right in the eyes. She had these great eyes, that could communicate so much emotion in them. Barry often thought about how he would do anything for her as long as she kept looking at him like that. It was then, getting lost in her eyes, that Barry sighed and said "I love you." she was surprised and in a way so was he but she smiled and kissed him. Eventually, the car to pick them up for their camping trip and they had to go. It was not lost on Barry that she never said it back to him it had put him in a solemn mood the first day of the trip. That was until the night when he and Iris stayed up and sat around the campfire and he looked into her eyes that he saw the love there. The problem was she never said it. In her defence, she had just started taking the birth control pill which made her emotions go out of wack for a while before they decided that it was best to let the pill be. But they were now 5 months deep and still nothing, Cynthia told him to relax "People take their own time to get to things" and that it had taken her 7 months to say it to Cisco but he knew Iris. He knew that the reason she wasn't saying it came down to trust.

Barry sighed and then got a message notification on his phone.

_**Iris W:** Hey, I was looking up stuff from my hometown and saw that the Central City Police Department was looking for a Junior CSI. I know you got the internship at Harrison Wells' lab but I also know that you are not big on Science for profit so I thought this could be a good opportunity for you. I could totally get you an interview if you are interested...?_  
_**Barry:** Of course I'm interested. That sounds amazing babe. Thank you. I love you._  
_**Iris W:** No problem *heart emoji* *monkey covering eyes emoji* Good night x._  
_**Barry:** Night x_

Barry sighed looking at the messages. If Barry got this job and Iris got her internship at CCPN then they could spend the next year in the same city. Barry hoped it worked out because not only would it be amazing to do CSI work but he was honestly not looking forward to spending the next year in a completely different city from Iris. He hesitated on her getting on birth control again cause he didn't want her to mess with her hormones again when she may break up with him after hearing about his past. Iris wasn't like that though but the relationship they do have could change for the worse. Either way he also knew being in her hometown also meant being near her father, who he would have to meet eventually.

* * *

Barry shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He was in the waiting area in CCPD and he was uncomfortable in his outfit. It was one Iris had chosen for him, a plaid blue shirt with jeans and converse. He didn't understand why he couldn't wear a suit like he usually does for interviews but Iris had told him about how when she was growing up she had heard police officers always complaining about how stuffy and stuck up the CSI's were, with their suits and fancy degrees. Barry pointed out that technically he does have a fancy degree and Iris just said "I know Barry, so do I but they just want to know that you think that you are also one of them. I mean not a gun-carrying team member but just like them, not above them." When he walked into the waiting area and saw the 3 other candidates he immediately began to sweat but he trusted Iris.

*1 hour later*

"Wow, kid you know your baseball." The detective said smiling at him.  
"Well, I love it. If only I had the coordination to play it." Barry said smiling. The interview was going well and he had built a good rapport with the interviewing detective and the Senior CSI, Julian Albert. Dr Albert had to step out after 25 minutes but the detective continued with the interview.  
"Hey, I don't trust CSI's that are not extra nerdy."  
"Well, then I'm definitely the guy for the job," Barry said which made the detective.  
"I like you kid. I'm glad my daughter recommended I give you a shot."  
"Your daughter?" Barry asked.  
"Ahh yes, Iris."  
Barry was stunned. He was so nervous when he walked in but the detective was so nice he just told him to call him 'Joe.' "Iris always said her dad worked with the police she never said-"  
"That her father was a detective?" Joe finished "Yeah she does that a lot. There's a lot of stigmas that come with being a detective's daughter. I think the only one of her friends who knows I'm a detective is her roommate Linda."  
"Yeah, I know Linda."  
"Well anyway, kid. We will look over your references but you definitely get my vote. All these other candidates were a bit too stuffy for my liking." He patted Barry on the back and walked back to the waiting room to fetch the next candidate.

* * *

Iris and Barry were fighting. They could get snippy at each other sometimes but this was only their second big fight. The first was the one they had that led Iris to finally get off the birth control pill.

"Iris I just don't understand why you couldn't tell me that the reason why you knew all of those things was because your father was a detective," Barry said exasperated.  
"I told you I didn't think it was a big deal," Iris said with her back to him.  
"You didn't think it was a big deal to tell me that the job I was interviewing for was going to have me working directly with your father, in the same building even?"  
Iris sighed and then turned to look at Barry "Fine. If we are going to have this conversation we might as well have it."  
"What conversation?"  
"About how you don't think this relationship has a future."  
"Iris, what I love you. Of course, I think this relationship has a future."  
"You love me? How am I supposed to believe that?"  
"Because I keep saying it!"  
"Barry we haven't talked about our future once. Not once. You and Cisco finished your doctorates 3 months early and my master's degree finishes in a month and we haven't talked about what happens after that. How you're going to stay here in Opal City and probably take a job with Harrison Wells after your internship and I was going to be Central City doing my internship."  
Barry was beginning to panic "It's only an 8-hour drive apart."  
"8 hours to two interns who have been dating for less than a year might as well be worlds apart."  
They both sighed and then Iris spoke again with tears in her eyes "D- Do- Do you not see a future with me, Barry?" She asked as and her voice broke "Cause if you don't see a future with me, just tell me now so I can-"  
Barry cut her off with a kiss, he didn't want to hear what she was going to say, his heart was already hurting but Iris pushed him away.  
"Is our relationship only physical to you? Cause I know we slept together early but I didn't think-"  
"Iris no. I want to be with you." At this point, Barry also had tears in his eyes.  
"Then let me ask you another question. If I had told you about my father being a detective and about working closely with him, would you have done the interview?"  
Barry weighed the question in his mind but he must have taken to long because Iris spoke again "Yeah well you think on that and I'm gonna go."  
Iris started putting her jacket back on and walked to the door "Iris wait..." as he spoke he heard his voice break.

She left his apartment and didn't look back.

* * *

It had been a couple of days since Barry had seen Iris and to be honest, he was miserable. His friends tried to cheer him up but his heart was heavy. He knew that Iris clearly was bothered by his lack of future plans. The more he thought about it the more he remembered times when she would bring up their hypothetical future. Like the time she brought up marriage names:  
"Do you think women should take the surnames of their husbands? Like should I be Iris Allen?" Barry remembers his breath hitching at that moment but only because he thought of the last Mrs Allen and how she ended up so he replied like "I think it's important for women to be allowed whatever name they choose. I like West. It suits you." Iris smiled at him but now that he thought about it he noticed how the smile didn't reach her eyes but she still ended the conversation by saying "Yeah plus I like the idea of hyphenating."

"I'm an idiot." He said to himself in his apartment.

* * *

Barry was anxious, he checked on the chicken stew to make sure it was the right temperature. He knew how Iris hated scorching hot food and she always burnt her tongue. This was the first time he was seeing Iris in a week. 7 whole days without her was torture, they didn't always see each other but they at least texted or called or video chatted but it had been radio silent since their fight last week. Barry decided he was going to tell Iris the truth about his family and his fears, he wanted to make it clear about how much he loved her and wanted her any way he could get her. He had decided that on Day 4 of the silence but getting Iris to speak to him was the difficult part. Whenever he showed up at the apartment she wouldn't answer or Linda told him to leave. He would try to get her attention outside the English Building but she would pretend like she couldn't hear him. He finally camped outside the university's newsroom and she finally showed up only to ask him to leave but it was enough time to get her to talk to him.

There was a knock at the door.

When Barry opened the door he was speechless. She looked amazing, she was just wearing her favourite jeans and tight shirt but everything fit her so perfectly, he just wanted to hold her. 

"Hi," she said cause Barry hadn't spoken yet.  
"H- Hey. Come in." Barry opened the door to let her in.  
"Something smells good," she spoke.  
"Yeah, I made chicken stew. Your favourite."  
"Oh, that's nice of you." She ducked her head and Barry instinctively reached for her hand "I missed you." she said in a small voice.  
"I missed you too. So much Iris I- I never wanted you to feel like I never saw a future with you. It was never about you, it was about me. I never wanted to get my hopes up that you might want to be with me in the future."  
"Why wouldn't I want that?" she asked him, she sighed "Barry, I love you."  
Barry swears his heart stops for a second and then he sighs and says "This is not how I wanted to hear you say those words."  
"It's not how I wanted to say them but I don't want to hide how I feel about you anymore but I'm also not staying in this if you are no longer in this for the long term."  
"I am. I swear I am. I think you should sit down."  
Iris walked over to his sofa and sat down. Barry allowed himself a few seconds to enjoy her presence there and then asked: "Can I take your jacket?"  
"Barry just tell me."  
Barry sighed and then said, "I think I should start with the day my mother was murdered."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is never a perfect time to tell people what you have been hiding. Waiting only means you are dodging or acting shady for longer and Barry now knows that. Iris deserves every bit of him, not just the parts of him he wants to give. Iris also should have voiced her concerns earlier though.


	5. Alright, let's get to it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Iris talk. Linda and Iris get some good news. Iris learns some startling information.

Barry and Iris laid naked on the sofa with Barry's head on her chest. Iris knew that this was his favourite place to lay his head. He said it's because he could hear her heartbeat but she knew it had more to do with the accessibility to her breasts more than anything else. She hummed and stroked his hair some more. She had missed him terribly and she didn't want to be without him anymore. 

"I can feel you smiling." She said softly to him.  
"I can't help it. You're here. After I told you everything, you're still here and I love you." he said looking up her chest at her.  
"I love you, Barry. I love you more now that you've told me."  
"Really? Why?"  
"Because it means you trust me. And trust to me is so important in a relationship, especially an interracial one. The lack of it is what ended my relationship with Eddie." Iris admitted to him.  
"I thought it ended because you couldn't deal with his racist family anymore."  
"In a way but Eddie knew his family was racist and didn't tell me. Maybe he was blind to just how much but even a slight heads up would have been nice before I met them." Iris sighed "I knew why he didn't tell me upfront..."  
"He was afraid you would end the relationship right there." Barry finished her sentence.  
"I know you're not like him. But I haven't dated a white boy since and after I saw the watch on your hand..." Iris took a breath "I was afraid but Linda told me about how I was drawn to you from the moment I saw you. She told me to take a leap of faith."  
"Remind me to send Linda flowers when we get off this sofa." He said and Iris giggled.  
"Iris?"  
"Yeah Bear?"  
Barry shifted himself off her chest so he could look up at her "I haven't told you the everything everything."  
"What do you mean everything everything?" Iris heart rate started to pick up  
"I still think my dad is innocent." Barry blurted out.  
Iris's eyes softened as she saw the vulnerability in his eyes "Barry, that's okay."  
Barry sighed and returned his position with his head on her chest "No one knows I still believe that, not even Cisco. I just don't want you to think I'm being naive."  
"Why would I think that?" She asked him softly  
"I know that people think that he obviously did it but half of the things they were saying in the courtroom and the way they were painting him in the news to be this jealous angry guy, it was just not him."  
"Barry, he was your father and honestly you know him better than I do. If he tells you that he didn't do it and you believe he didn't I understand why you would. I mean does he still tell you he's innocent?"  
Barry sighed "I don't know I haven't spoken to him in a while."  
"Whats 'a while'?"  
"8 years," Barry said softly  
"Phew. Why has it been so long since you've spoken to him?" Barry didn't say anything so Iris spoke again "Barry?"  
"I don't want you to think badly of me." He spoke softly  
"Barry just be honest."  
"I was just tired of it all. Every time I got a letter from him or every time we talked on the phone I was reminded about where he was and what was happening and what happened and I just wanted to be done."  
"Bear you went through trauma twice over. You're allowed to be selfish and take the time that you needed to to get your life together."  
Barry sat up and looked at her "So you don't think I'm a bad person?"  
"No, but I have to ask if you've thought about starting to communicate with your father again?"  
Barry ducked his head "I don't know. It's been so long. Who's to say he'd even want to hear from me?"  
"Of course he'd want to hear from you. I'm sure he'd love to know about your high school graduation, your friends, your degree-"  
"You." Barry finished.  
"If you'd want to tell him about me..."  
"I think I will." He said smiling "You know it's not lost on me that it's almost impossible to say no to you right now."  
"Well, I could always put more clothes on and ask again..."  
"No. Never. Never put more clothes on." Barry said as he kissed her everywhere and Iris giggled.

* * *

"Well look what the cat dragged in. Late and doing the walk of shame." Linda said as Iris walked into her apartment two days later wearing one of Barry's shirts as a dress "I was going to send a search party for you if you didn't show up today."  
"I told you where I was yesterday Linda," Iris said as she made her way to get a change of clothes as she had showered and ate breakfast at Barry's  
"You sent a text message that said 'I'm fine. Will call later.' for which you did not call later." She shouted through Iris' closed bedroom door  
"Okay, I'm sorry. I got a little distracted," Iris replied.  
"I bet you did." Iris opened the door to a grinning Linda "I'm just glad you're happy again. I'm guessing everything is sorted then?"  
"Yes, but I can't tell you what it is about. Is that fine?" Iris asked.  
Linda held her chest in fake hurt "Of course not. I must know everything you and Barry speak of and do,"  
Iris laughed at Linda's faked outrage and then they got ready to go the newsroom when they heard a knock on their door.  
There was a delivery man outside their home with two boxes. "Sorry, I wanted to leave them outside but the weather says it's supposed to rain, so I just wanted to check if you were home before I left it there unattended,"  
Iris took the boxes and thanked the delivery man with a $20 bill she had in her purse.

"What are those?" Linda asked  
"I don't know. One's addressed to me and the other to you."  
They opened their boxes and inside they found a letter sitting on top of it. Iris began to read "Dear Ms West we are pleased to inform you of your acceptance into the internship program at Central City Picture News" Iris started screaming "This can't be real,"  
"Oh I think it's real," Linda then held up a press-like badge that said 'Linda Park: Intern'  
The girls started screaming and dancing. They took some pictures with their letters and badges and sent them off to their family and Instagram. Iris also sent one to Barry who promptly replied.

_**Barry A:** That's amazing babe. I'm so proud of you. I have to take you and Linda out to celebrate tonight._

"Aww," Iris said as she read his message  
"What?" Linda asked.  
"Barry wants to take us out to celebrate tonight."  
"Ohh that sounds like fun, it's been a while since I've gotten good and drunk."  
"Uhh I don't think that's a good idea," Iris said as she thought of how Linda gets when she's drunk. Loud, clumsy and slutty.  
Linda grabbed Iris' phone and started recording a voice message to Barry "Oh Barry, Linda here. I would love for you to take us out on the town tonight. Maybe I can convince Iris to wear something slutty and maybe you can pay me back for having my girl walking around our apartment like a zombie last week. Bye."  
Iris was able to wrestle her phone back from Linda but not before the message had already sent.

_**Iris:** Ignore that. Linda is being her crazy self again._  
_**Barry A:** I don't know. I think she might have a point._  
_**Iris:** Oh no, Bear don't feel obligated to take us out. We can celebrate after we graduate._  
_**Barry A:** Yeah you right. Plus I've already seen you naked so there's nothing 'slutty' you could wear that would floor me *smirking emoji*_  
_**Iris:** Bet. *fingers crossed emoji*_  
_**Barry A:** 7.30 tonight, fine?_  
_**Iris:** See you then *heart emoji*_

"So I guess we going out tonight..." Linda says doing a body roll.  
"Lord," Iris said covering her face with her hand

* * *

"You sure it's not too much?" Iris asked Linda one more time. She was wearing a [two-piece sequin set](https://www.prettylittlething.com/shape-black-sequin-twist-detail-split-midi-skirt.html) that had a twisted bandeau top and matching skirt with a long slit down the side. Normally Iris wouldn't have her stomach out but she did want to shock Barry plus Linda also rocked her midriff in a [two-piece black tie-dye set](https://www.prettylittlething.com/black-tie-dye-velvet-high-waisted-flared-trouser.html) that had pants that made Linda's legs look so long. Man, were they a short pair of besties.  
"Girl, no. It's good for men to get a heart attack from their girlfriend's hotness every once in a while. It keeps things interesting."  
Iris then turned to Linda, who was putting on the last touches to her lip gloss in the mirror, and asked: "And who are you trying to give a heart attack to, Miss Park?"  
"I don't know. I just want to have fun. I see what you and Barry have and I've been thinking it might not be bad if I start putting myself out there."  
Iris softened at that "I'm happy for you. You deserve a man- you deserve someone who loves you. Well more than I do, even if that's not possible."  
"Thanks."  
A knock from the door got the girls out of their bubble and Linda rushed to go answer it while Iris thought about how she almost slipped talking to Linda just then. It was not uncommon for university students to engage with members of the same sex during their first years but over the years it became quite obvious to Iris that Linda seemed to like both men and women. She will never forget a party she was at where she had lost Linda, only to find her hooking up with one of the female photography students in the bedroom. The next week the poor girl tried to get Linda's attention but Linda played it off as if it didn't happen. Iris wanted to confront her but also realised she couldn't push Linda out the closet, it had to be on her own terms. All Iris could do is provide a safe space for her to land just in case the aftermath is not good. Iris loved Linda but man could she get sloppy when she was drunk and now Barry (and Cisco as of 1 hour ago) was going to be around, Iris just didn't want Linda to do anything noteworthy. Maybe, it's exactly the push Linda might need. 'I don't know' Iris said to herself.

"Iris come out here your man wants to see you," Linda called for her.

When Iris walked out the bathroom the reaction she got from Barry is exactly what Linda was talking about. He just stared at her wide-eyed, even Cisco was staring for a little too long. Iris walked until she was right in front of Barry but all he could do was bring his arms out to pull her close. His hands were cool on her skin but she liked it. It gave her goosebumps.  
"She looks good doesn't she?" Linda asked.  
Barry then seemed to remember how to speak and said "Yeah. So good. So-"  
"Sexy" Iris finished for him and continued "Don't question me ever again Bartholomew."

* * *

The night was going great. They had started at a bar to get some drinks but then later found themselves at a club dancing and drinking some more. Barry, Iris noted was not drinking at all meanwhile, Cisco was also getting smashed. Iris figured that Barry brought Cisco along to keep track of Linda but Linda ended up breaking it down on the dancefloor while Cisco sulked in the section Barry had bought out. Barry and Iris on the other hand were grinding on each other every chance they got. Any time Iris got a chance to turn around and slowly grind her ass into his crotch, Barry would grab her by the waist and pull her flush against him. She could feel him hard and ready for her it was causing her to be so wet, it was unbelievable. I mean was his hands always that big? When did he start smelling extra good?

Barry, Iris and Linda stumbled into the girls' apartment a little after 3 am and Iris helped Linda into her room while Barry got her a glass of water and put it by her bed. Eventually, it was just Iris and Barry in the kitchen of their apartment. Barry gave Iris a glass of water to drink which some of the water spilt over and went down the front of her. Barry's darkened with lust and Iris then pulled Barry by his big hands into her room.

Iris plopped Barry down on her bed and started to undress, but Barry stilled her by her hips "Iris, maybe you should get some rest."  
Iris couldn't help she was offended and she could feel herself physically pout "But you like sloppy drunk sex" she whined.  
"Yes, when we're both a bit drunk. Not when you're the only one unstable."  
"Are you sure?" she asked and then took off her top revealing her naked perky breasts to him  
Barry closed his eyes and groaned "Iris... You're making it hard..."  
"That's the whole point" and she started to kiss him, nipping at his bottom lip "You taste so good."  
Iris could feel Barry getting lost in the kiss and then he stopped her, removed her skirt and proceeded to put on the bed. Iris was getting so excited but all he did was hold her. She was disappointed but being in Barry's is a pretty good consolation prize.

In the middle of the morning after waking up to go pee, Iris saw Barry lying in bed after she got back from the bathroom and got an idea.  
Iris pulled the covers back and pulled Barry out of his boxers, she was surprised the sensation didn't wake him up but as soon as she dragged her tongue along the side of his dick and then it immediately went rigid. Barry stirred in his sleep but Iris continued dabbing at the head of his dick and licking the sides of it, flicking her tongue over the slit. A hiss escaped Barry's mouth and Iris looked up to see his eyes open. She smiled to herself but she continued wrapping her mouth around the head of him, sucking lightly, her tongue swirling, before she sunk her mouth down a little more, taking him in deeper.  
"Fuck" he muttered under his breath.  
"Grab my head, babe," she said and she could see him hesitate for a moment before putting his hand on the back of her head.   
Iris licked down the length of him before wrapping her hand around his shaft and taking him as deep as she could. Barry started to apply a bit of pressure to her head which helped her understand the pace. Iris could hear Barry groaning more and more, eventually, she could feel the pressure building as she licked the vein on the side of his length.  
"Ir- Iris. I'm close," he choked out but that only encouraged Iris as she moaned her acknowledgement. Between her hand and mouth, she was taking him to the edge quicker. The pressure from his hand eventually loosening to just hold as she picked up the pace "Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuuuuu-" and then he spilt himself into her mouth. Iris wiped the excess of the sides of her mouth.

"If that was punishment for not having sex, you need to change your definition of punishment," Barry said breathing heavily like he ran a marathon.  
"So you don't want me to wake you up like this?" she asked him cheekily.  
Barry grabbed her closer and started kissing her everywhere on her lips, her cheeks, her neck "Forget I said anything," he said smiling.  
"Hey, lovebirds you know I can hear everything right?" Linda shouted outside the room.  
"And this is why we never have sex here," Iris said getting off Barry's lap.

* * *

Iris was a week into her internship with CCPN and all she was allowed to do was make coffee and follow around her designated mentor Mason Bridge. He only made her go through his research, which he did on his own, she tried to give input but he really was interested in hearing it. She hoped she could impress Mason before she graduated and moved back to Central City permanently because she didn't want to spend the next 6 months fetching coffee and making copies. Barry joked that she should start her own newspaper herself but she didn't want to start something when she barely knew how the real world of journalism works. All the stories Iris had written and had written for were school newspapers, this was a whole new ball game.

"Mr Bridge. Can I ask you something?" Iris asked under a pile of his research in his office.  
"I told you to just call me Mason, intern,"  
"Okay, Mason. Can I ask you about your research on Harrison Wells?"  
"Go ahead,"  
"I see hear that your research goes back 28 years."  
"That's not a question."  
"Why do you have 28 years worth of information on Harrison Wells, I thought this was just supposed to be a puff piece for the opening of his new lab in Central City?"  
"It is but I got curious as to why he would pick Central City as a location so I did some research on him to see if there was any connection."  
"Couldn't you just ask him? I mean you did have an interview with him,"  
"Yes, he said that he lived here a for a while a few years back but journalism 101, intern. People lie. People lie all the time. Besides, the guy gave me the creeps,"  
"But the research only goes back 28 years..."  
"That's not a question..." Mason continued "But yes cause that is all that exists for him."  
"Isn't that odd?" Iris asked concerned  
"Yes and no. I mean it's difficult to find non-digital information and besides Wells is an orphan who went through the foster care system. Let me give you advice from a seasoned reporter, foster care records are like a difficult maze to get through, even now."  
"So nothing was interesting about him,"  
"I mean I wouldn't say that. The guy came out of nowhere with all this money to start this groundbreaking bioengineering company and no one batted an eye,"  
"I mean white men do it all the time," Iris said casually  
"Yes middle-class white men, upper-class white men. Not white men out of the foster care system. It's just unheard of," Mason sighed and continued "Alas, I couldn't find out anything interesting about him besides the highschool he attended,"  
"Why would his highschool be interesting?"  
"Oh, you don't know? Well when I was coming up as a reporter, one of the cases that made me quite popular was the murder of Nora Allen."  
Iris froze and Mason saw it "I'm guessing you've heard of it?" someone outside indicated that Mason was needed in 5 minutes, probably for the midday staff meeting.  
"Yeah, I've heard of it." Iris tried to keep her voice steady.  
"Well, when I was interviewing Wells he let it slip that he had gone to Mount Vista Highschool and I thought that was interesting because Nora Allen or Nora Dawn as she was known as back then, also went there around the same time," Mason said punctuating his point with his finger  
"So? They were classmates." Iris said through a shaky voice  
"Yeah, but I always wanted to know who was the guy Nora had an affair with. I mean it got her killed."  
Iris' heart was now pounding so hard and loud, she was surprised Mason couldn't hear it but she asked "And was it? Wells?"  
"Nah turns out it was some guy named Eobard Thawne. What a weird name." Mason said casually and then left the office probably to attend the staff meeting.

Luckily interns were not allowed at the staff meeting because Iris was reeling. It was a lot of information to take in a 10-minute conversation.

'Eobard Thawne.' 'Thawne. Like Eddie Thawne?' 'Is her ex-boyfriend somehow related to her current boyfriend's mother's murder?'

Linda came into Mason's office "Hey, wanna get lunch while our old stuffy mentors get screamed at by the editor?", one look at Iris' face and Linda knew something was wrong "Hey what's going on?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! So Iris officially knows way more than she probably wanted to but I am curious where you guys think I'm going with this...  
> Do you think Iris should stay out of it? Getting involved could stop Barry from healing.
> 
> Also note: I may be posting chapters less frequent during the week cause of work but maybe inspiration might strike and I write up a storm and post but stay tuned...


	6. The Past is ever so Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry talks to Iris about some new information which leads him directly to his father for some answers.

"He's so incompetent Iris like I don't even understand how Harrison Wells hired this guy." Barry had been ranting about his mentor Hunter Zolomon for like 15 minutes. 

When Iris video called him, he had planned on telling her how much he missed her but when Iris asked what was wrong it all just came out. Hunter was his mentor for the duration of his internship at Wells Bio and even though Barry had intended on taking the CSI job in Central City, in a month, he still wanted to make a good impression but above that, he wanted to learn. The problem with Hunter was that it seemed like he was the kind of guy that got the interns to do most if not all of his work for him which would be fine if Barry was getting the guidance from him, instead Barry felt like he was doing scrappy patchwork fixes for Hunter's work. Barry was not experienced enough or given enough time to solve the problems that were given to him. 

The pressure was unbelievable and when he talked about it with Cisco, it seemed he was in a similar situation with his mentor. Only Cisco's problem came with the fact that Hartley Sawyer actually wanted him to fail. See Hartley was considered to be Wells' prodigy and Barry thinks that Hartley is threatened by Cisco because unlike Caitlin, Ronnie and himself, Cisco didn't have to apply for his internship, he was personally scouted by Wells. At least Hunter was polite to Barry, Hartley tore into Cisco, subtly, whenever he could, from the way he dressed and to the length of his hair. The only people who were not miserable were Ronnie and Caitlin, Ronnie had a pretty cool mentor in Jefferson 'Jax' Jackson and Caitlin hit the jackpot because her mentor was Dr Martin Stein who was also the head of the internship program. Dr Stein is such a kind and awesome man. Barry and Cisco knew eventually they would have to complain to Dr Stein about the predicament with their mentors but they also didn't want to seem like they were not up to work or get labelled as difficult employees before they even got a chance to get hired. It was a bad situation.

"I mean he can't be that incompetent if Harrison Wells hired him," Iris said.  
"Yeah I am not sure if Wells even knows about Hunter's problems, the guy is the CEO it's not exactly like he hangs out with everyone in his offices and labs,"  
"I mean but it's still a pretty small operation though right? Cause Wells is only getting traction now."  
"Yeah" Barry sighed and then asked "Wait, how do you know that?"  
Iris took a while to respond so much so that Barry thought the connection had been lost "Well Mason interviewed him for his next venture that's happening in Central City,"  
"Oh yeah, I remember that," Iris looked away for a second "Iris is something wrong?" Barry was sensing she was a bit off.  
"Uhm. I don't know Barry," Barry's heart rate picked up "Could we talk quickly?" Iris asked.  
Barry was getting extremely nervous cause that was not the question anyone wanted to hear, he took a breath and then said "Yeah"  
"It's about Wells." Iris took a visible breath and then said "Harrison Wells went to school with your mom and might have known her. I also think I might have a new theory about your mother's death."  
"Okay," Barry said slowly.  
Iris continued while Barry held in a breath "I went through all the information Mason could dig up about Wells and one thing doesn't add up: Where did he get the money to start Wells Bio? See there are no shareholders or board of directors or trustees for the company. That makes zero sense even if the company is small, Wells would have to answer to someone for the company's profit margin or stock price, but according to research that doesn't seem to be the case. Mason's research shows that the capital to start Wells Bio came from a shell company of a shell company. Which means A) someone really doesn't want to be linked to Wells Bio which is crazy cause its a small company and the work being done is nothing to write about or B) someone really doesn't want to be linked to Harrison Wells himself."  
"Okay, Iris but what does this have to do with my mother's murder?" Barry asked trying to hide his panicked thoughts  
"Well, the main shell company and the shell company it owns have the same colour scheme and the same variation of the same symbol a red lighting bolt around black. That's the Thawne family symbol. Back when they knights or whatever their family carried flags with those colours and that symbol."  
"The Thawne family? What do they have to do with anything?" Barry could see the excitement coming off of Iris but he was scared about the answers he was going to get.  
"The police said that your father killed your mother because she was having an affair, I think they had the right motive but the wrong person. I think your mother was killed by her lover, her childhood boyfriend Eobard Thawne."  
"Wait! Iris. How did you find out his name?"  
"Oh, I didn't Mason did. I think Thawne killed Nora maybe after she refused to leave your father and Thawne's family paid Wells to vouch for the affair and for him as an alibi,"  
Barry took a deep gulp and said: "Even if Thawne killed my mother, why would Wells vouch for him and why would the police believe him?"  
"Because Wells was your mother's childhood friend, they went to school together. Think about it, Wells knew your mother and he was in the same city and was extremely poor, it makes sense as to why he would be the perfect person to bribe."  
"Iris, Wells is a man of integrity..."  
"Wells is a smart ambitious man who grew up as an orphan, he probably thought it was easy money."  
"Even if that was true..." Barry was trying to breathe and speak above his increasing beating heart "My mother was not having an affair-"  
"But Barr-"  
Barry cut her off "No. Listen. My mother wouldn't do that to my father. I already told you that. Can we please just stop talking about this?"  
Iris still looked taken aback by his outburst but said "Yeah." She spoke more softly now "I'm sorry."  
"It's fine. It's getting late we should go to bed,"  
"Yeah. I love you,"  
"Love you too," Barry said quickly ending the call.

* * *

Barry would be lying if he said that he slept well, to be honest, he had a terrible headache. Barry knew that Iris meant well and that it was in her reporter nature to want to get to the truth but he just couldn't deal with the information she gave him. Wells, the man he is currently interning for, used to know his mom and Iris thinks he's the reason his father got put away.

Barry got in his car more determined than ever to see Iris. Video calling wasn't enough and after last night he needed to feel at ease and he knew that when he got to see her and hold her, everything would be alright. Barry could tell that Iris had been working up the courage to tell him her theory about his mother's death but it was shocking just how much work she had put into it. He felt really bad at his reaction but he also felt great that she believed him about thinking his dad was innocent even if it meant that she didn't think his mother was all too innocent herself. He couldn't believe that his mother would have an affair and his father not know about it, but his mother would never do that to his father. She never would. It hurt Barry that Iris thought that she could have but also Iris' theory could actually make for a case to get her father out of prison and he knew Iris was just being practical about it. He hated himself for putting Iris in the position to do all this work for what could honestly be a lost cause. It was all that thinking that leads Barry to take a sharp turn, now that he was far into Central City and head towards the Central City Jail.

Barry sat tapping his foot waiting to see his father, he fixed his hair and pretended like he couldn't hear the other prisoners around him conversing with their loved ones. He was a nervous wreck. And then his dad came in a sat down.

"Look at you slugger, you've grown. Although not in the face." Henry said to his son, Barry could see the age around his father's face, it hurt him to realise that he missed seeing his father this whole time.  
"Yeah, I guess I will always have a babyface,"  
"Ain't nothing wrong with that," Henry said with a smile in his eyes.  
"Yeah. Dad, how are you doing?" Barry asked concerned.  
"Better than I've been for years. My son is here to see me."  
Barry flinched "Sorry. I know I should have visited and spoken to you more. I know you must be upset." Barry hung his head  
"Barry look at me." Barry looked his father in the eyes and saw that they still held a smile "I understand why you stopped communication. I could tell in your letters and phone calls that you were sad and I knew it had to do with me and why I'm in here. Was I sad that I couldn't talk to you anymore? Yes, but at least I knew you were taking care of yourself."  
"You don't know that I was..."  
"My mom and dad kept a watchful eye on you. I also wanted to extend a Dad congratulations on you getting your degree, masters and doctorate. I am so proud of you son. I know your mom would have been too."   
Barry had tears in his eyes at his dad's words, he was reeling from all the things his father had missed but he tried to stay on topic for this visit so he wiped his eyes, took a deep breath and said "Dad. I actually came here to talk about mom, about how she was- about how she died,"  
"Barry, no we promised we would never discuss this during our times together,"  
"I know dad. But that was back when I was a child, I'm old enough to know now."  
Henry sighed and then asked, "What do you want to know?"  
"Did mom ever mention a person named Harrison Wells?"  
"Harrison Wells. That name just keeps popping up a lot lately."  
"Like in the news?"  
"No, I mean you are the third person to ask me about him in the last month,"  
"Wait who else asked you about him?"  
"Well the first was some reporter guy named Mason Bridge, he got big covering your mom's case and my trail, I figured he was just getting more information so he could do some anniversary story but I told him I was not interested in saying anything more but he did ask me about Harrison Wells. I guess he decided to change his approach cause the next person to come was a young woman from the same newspaper asking about Harrison Wells, only she also asked about something Thawne."  
"And what did you tell her?" Barry asked.  
"I told her that I had never heard of either one of those guys and that I wouldn't say anymore."  
"What was the name of the second reporter?"  
"The young girl? Uhm it's the same as a flower, I think it was-"  
"Iris,"  
"Yeah. You know her?" Henry asked Barry who was now nervous  
"Yeah. Well, she's my... girlfriend,"  
"Well good on you son. Your grandparents still seem to think that you have something going with Patricia Spivot. In fact, you guys seemed to be together for so long I thought you were actually here to ask for your mother's ring,"  
"Oh no, Patty and I were nowhere near that level in our relationship,"  
"But you and this Iris girl are," He said it like a sure statement.  
"I never said that," Barry said with wide eyes  
"You didn't have to. So I'm guessing her visit had more to do with you than with Mason Bridge?"  
"Yeah, she believes me when I said that I don't think you are guilty. I think she was just trying to come up with another suspect,"  
Henry sighed and rubbed his eyes with his hands "Barry I don't think it's a good idea to get her involved in this. You have a chance to have a normal happy life here, don't bring it down with all of this death," Barry ducked his head but his father continued "Please son, let it go. I have,"  
"How am I supposed to let it go when you're in here instead of outside with me?"  
"Son, finding out the truth may not actually get me out of here and even if it did it wouldn't change all those years of people thinking of me as a murderer and thinking lesser of you because of it... and it definitely will not bring your mother back,"  
Barry was on the verge of crying "I know dad but-"  
"But nothing. Please, son, tell me you will stop looking into this? Tell me you will get Iris to do the same?"  
Barry breathed in his tears and then said "Fine, but only if you answer my questions about some stuff,"  
Henry sighed but waved for Barry to continue "Why did you tell Iris you didn't know who Eobard Thawne was?"  
"Ahh, that's the Thawne guy's name. Odd. I was telling her the truth I don't know who he is. I mean, I recognise the last name but not the first name,"  
"He was mom's first boyfriend, you had to have known him,"  
"That's impossible son. Your mother's first boyfriend was Jay Garrick,"  
"Wait as in your cousin and my second cousin Jay Garrick?" Barry asked incredulously  
"Yeah, that's how we met remember?"  
Barry started to recall the tale of his parents first meeting "At cousin Jay's party, you talked all night. She was seeing someone else, but she broke it off after she met you,"  
"And we were together from then, that boyfriend was cousin Jay. I thought we told you that?"  
"I think I would've remembered that." Barry rubbed the back of his neck and said "If cousin Jay was mom's only boyfriend before you, then who's Eobard Thawne? And why does everyone think he's the guy?"  
"It doesn't matter son. We didn't bring up cousin Jay because we didn't want to drag him into this mess when Nora and his' relationship was meaningless and short. Just let it go,"  
Barry sighed and then went back to talking to his dad about Iris.

* * *

When Barry got out of the prison he felt lighter than he had felt in years.

"Well if it isn't future junior CSI himself Barry Allen," Barry looked to his right and saw Detective Joe West walking towards the jail.  
"H- Hello Joe. It's nice to see you again," Barry said his heart was beating so loud he was sure that Detective West could hear it.  
"Yeah, you too. I was just stopping by to talk to a guy inside on a bunch of thefts and vandalism that have been happening around the city,"  
"Oh that sounds like an interesting case," Barry could tell that Joe was waiting for him to tell him why he was here "I was just-"  
"Visiting your father. I figured," Joe said cutting him off  
Barry's eyes widened "Don't worry, kid. I don't judge, I detect. Plus we did a background check on you and it came up," Barry ducked his head but Joe continued "I know that you are not your father. Just like my daughter is not me. You made all the right choices and seem to be a stand-up guy, who knows his Baseball," Joes said shrugging his shoulders  
"Did you still-"  
Joe cut him off "Recommend you for the CSI job? Yes, I like you,"  
"Thank you, Joe. I promise, if I get it, I won't let you down,"  
"You better not kid and between you and me..." Joe put his hand on Barry's shoulder "You got the job. Pretend to be surprised when CSI Albert calls you,"

  
Barry was so shocked he didn't know what to say, he thanked Detective West for the news and made his way to his car, he felt like he was walking on air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That chapter ended pretty nicely. Hopefully, Barry gets to see Iris and tell her what his father said, while he is in town.
> 
> Also... I like writing Henry Allen and Joe West. I think they are both the sort of father figures I always wanted.


	7. How much information is too much information (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry tells Iris to step back and Iris realises there is no escaping information when you work as a reporter... Well an intern reporter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo this chapter had to be split up into two parts because if you see how it ends then you know that I need to continue with the Iris perspective but I am hoping to be done with the second part by the end of the weekend so be on the lookout.

Iris sighed contently. She and Barry were naked in her bed, curled up together. Iris started giggling to herself

Barry shifted his head to look at her and asked "What?"  
"Nothing. I guess I can't believe you drove all the way here to have sex with me." She said smiling to herself.  
"I didn't drive all the way here to have sex, I just wanted to see you. I missed you." Barry said while pressing a kiss to her forehead, when Barry didn't get a reply from Iris he asked "What's wrong?"  
"I guess I didn't know if you would even want to talk to me after last night,"  
"Why would you think that?" Barry shifted his whole body to look at her, Iris ducked her head "Hey, look at me," Iris lifted her head to look at him "Why would you think that?"  
Iris was nervous but she knew she had to say what was on her mind, "Because- Because I went into full reporter mode and investigated your mother's death without asking you. I presented a theory to you with- without considering your feelings and I'm so sorry, Bear." Iris knew what it was like to lose a mother but at least she had something to blame for it, fucking cancer. When she got off the video call with Barry last night, she thought about it and how she behaved, she was ashamed of herself. She was worried about Barry and she had spent the entire morning trying to muster up the courage to call him. When Barry just showed up at her dad's house he looked so happy and their reunion immediately turned physical because of how much they missed each other. Iris swallowed her brewing tears and finally said softly "I'm sorry,"  
"Hey, I'm not mad at you Iris," she ducked her head in disbelief Barry must have sensed her hesitancy because he brought his hand to her face to lift her eyes to his. They were so green and filled with love. "I would never be mad at you for loving me enough to dedicate time to looking into my mother's murder. Yeah, I didn't love some parts of your theory but I know you were just trying to prove my dad's innocence and I honestly can't be too mad at you for that. I came here today to be near you because I missed you and because- because just looking at you grounds me," Barry sealed his words with a kiss and Iris savoured it and the smell of him.  
Iris sighed "You drove all this way to see me and now you're gonna have to leave cause my dad will be home in like 2 hours,"  
Barry pulled her in closer "I could stay and meet your dad officially,"   
"Unfortunately that is a no-go Mr Allen, my dad does not want to meet boyfriends if we've been dating for less than a year,"  
"Really? Why?"  
Iris shrugged "It's probably just a guard to make sure I don't just bring randoms into his life,"  
"Well I am not a random boyfriend, am I?" Barry asked with a smile.  
"No, but my dad has always trusted me to date. He was never like other fathers who declared their daughter 'too grown' just because she liked boys. He gave me the freedom to date and he only asked for one thing in return. I don't think it's a bad thing to give him that,"  
"I guess not but I don't have to leave immediately do I?"   
"No, we got time," she sighed against.  
"Hey speaking of your dad, I have news... I got the job at CCPD," he said smiling brightly  
"Oh my goodness Barry, that's amazing!" she said shifting to straddle him. Iris knew that Barry loved how she looked when she straddled him, her hair would fall just right and the way Barry looked looking up at her always made her feel so good.  
"I'm so proud of you. When did they call you?"  
"Uhh, actually they haven't called yet. I bumped into your dad earlier and he told me himself,"  
Iris was confused "When did you bump into my dad?"  
"Earlier as I was leaving Central City Jail,"  
Iris had an idea of what the answer might be but she asked anyway "And you were at the jail because...?"  
"I was visiting my dad,"  
"That's quite a big step, Barry. How did it go?"

* * *

Barry was pacing the bed waiting for Iris to answer his request. At some point when he was telling Iris the story of his visit with his dad, he got out of the bed to put on his boxers, Iris put on more clothes because she knew it was hard to have meaningful conversations when they were staring at each other naked. He stopped and looked at her in the eyes "Iris, please?"  
"Barry, I love you so of course, I will do anything you ask of me but-"  
"But what?"  
"But I just wanted to make things better for you. I know I can be a bit overzealous when it comes to reporter things but I know I was on to something here,"  
"Iris it doesn't matter. Even if you did find out the actual events of my mother's death, it wouldn't necessarily mean my dad would go free and that-" Barry hesitated and Iris noted the sadness in his eyes "And that would hurt so much more. Knowing and having the answer for my mother's death but not being able to do anything about it would break me," Iris got out of the bed to hold his hand.  
"I just wanted to make things better for you," She repeated as she looked up at him.  
"I know and I love you even more for it. But I spent the last 12-15 years actively avoiding getting over my mother's death and I don't want to live in the past anymore. I don't want to drag you down with me. Maybe Patty's father had a point about not sharing my thoughts on my father's innocence,"  
"Hey. No. I'm glad you told me. It was your truth and I wanted to hear it. I guess I shouldn't have tried to fix it for you,"  
Barry sighed and said, "From now on, we live in the present, okay?"  
Iris nodded and then put her hands around his waist to hold him closer, Barry responded by putting his arms around her as well. They stood like that together until Barry had to leave, to make sure he didn't end up driving in the dark back to Opal City.

Iris was disappointed she couldn't help Barry by looking into his mother's case, it was the first time she had felt like a reporter in a while. Without a case to look into Iris knew the next couple of weeks at her internship were going to be difficult and boring. Very boring.

* * *

Iris is packing her desk getting ready to leave work. When Mason came to stand in front of her "So Intern, I need someone to bounce a theory off. Step into my office," he indicates to her to enter.

Iris was shocked, to say the least. All week Mason had been dodging her whenever she tried to enter his office, she figured he was tired of having her in his 'head' as he often described his office but when she walked in she realised what Mason had been hiding. Mason's office was usually a mess of papers but when Iris went in she finally saw the board he had up littered with pictures, strings tied together and newspaper clippings. Iris asked, "What is that?"  
"It's my thinking board. I use it to keep track of my progress in a story. Have a seat," Mason said pointing to a chair with a stack of papers on it.  
Iris moved the papers and sat down "So what's this theory you have?"  
"It's about the Nora Allen case,"  
"What about it?" Iris couldn't investigate the case any further but she had no control over Mason so she decided to hear what he had to say.  
"So I went looking for information about Harrison Wells at Mount Vista High School and I guess what I found out?" Iris shrugged so Mason continued "They have no record of Harrison Wells ever attending Mount Vista High School. So I asked them for their yearbooks around the time he probably went there and I couldn't find him at all. This led me to the theory I have been working on all week: Harrison Wells is Eobard Thawne,"

Iris was not sure what Mason Bridge was going to say but it wasn't that, she blinks at him for a few seconds and then says "What?"  
"Well, I thought it was weird that Wells would lie about going to a school that Nora Allen happened to go to as well especially because it was not like I asked him about it. So I did more research and guess what?" Mason asked but clearly, he wasn't expecting an answer because he immediately replied "There is no record of Harrison Wells ever being in Keystone. Again, weird but as I was going over my research I found out that there is another Mount Vista High School on the other side of the country. Which again is weird but then it came to my attention that both schools are public schools,"  
Iris tried to lead Mason to his point so she said "So Harrison Wells, Nora Dawn and Eobard Thawne went to public schools with the same name...?" Iris shrugged and then thought about what she just said and asked "Why would a Thawne be in a public school?"  
"Exactly my train of thought, intern. So I thought why don't I just ask this guy these questions directly? Only, according to the Thawnes, Eobard is 'off the grid' and 'travelling indefinitely'" Mason made air quotes around the parts he clearly thought were bogus.  
"If this was a movie I would say that they're covering up his death,"  
"That's what I thought but I did find evidence of Eobard travelling, I found plane tickets, train tickets, hotel bookings and car service hires from all over the world,"  
"So he is alive?" Iris asked.  
"Or that's what he wants people to think, just in case they go looking for him. I mean it's weird that a guy who's supposedly living 'off the grid' bought tickets and stayed at places that exclusively left a digital receipt,"  
Iris was starting to see where Mason was going "It's like he was leaving a digital trail,"  
"Exactly! But why?" Mason asked but again Iris knew this was not a direct question at her "So I asked around with Eobard's old supposed friends and none of them has laid eyes on the man in over 25 years," Iris' heartbeat increased as she thought about where this was leading "Isn't it weird? Eobard Thawne disappears Harrison Wells pops up,"  
"That's why you think they're the same person? But why would Eobard go through all that effort of changing his name only to make it seem like his old self is still running around somewhere? And this doesn't answer the question of why a Thawne went to a public school. The Thawnes fund like 3 of the state's best private schools,"  
"Well, your guesses are as good as mine, intern. It's not like I can ask Eobard these questions directly. Only there is another Eobard Thawne, he's a lot older but I thought there was no harm in asking him about his namesake, right? Only when I went to make an appointment with Eobard Thawne Snr, I found out he had a stroke last year,"  
"That's... unfortunate?" Iris said confused.  
"Yeah yeah, poor rich guy. The interesting thing is the facility that Wells Bio is trying to build in Central City is going to be exclusively involved in reviving dead parts of the brain. Which would be a great treatment for people suffering from Dementia, Alzheimer's patients and-"  
"Stroke victims," Iris finished Mason's sentence "Okay so Harrison Wells who is actually Eobard Thawne is building a medical facility to help treat people like his uncle. I mean it's all strange sure but it's not illegal. I don't think,"  
"You are correct. Only I am brought back again to the fact that Wells slash Thawne grew up in an orphanage and went to a public school. The Thawnes are one of the oldest and richest families in the state, why would they leave one of their own in the foster care and public school system?" Mason asked  
"They wouldn't. Not unless they didn't know about him,"  
Mason looked at her and then asked "Or?"  
Iris thought for a second and then said "He's illegitimate,"  
"An 18-year-old Jane Doe showed up at a nunnery in Keystone already in labour before she died due to the intensity of childbirth she asked that her son be named after his father Eobard Thawne,"  
Iris took a breath, processing what Mason had just said, and then spoke "Okay... that's very interesting but it still doesn't explain why Wells slash Thawne would go through all the effort of making it seem like he is alive out there somewhere. Also, what does this have to do with the Nora Allen case?"  
"Well at first I thought Wells slash Thawne change his name after the death of Nora but again Wells existed for 28 years and Nora was killed 15 years ago. So then I did more research which brought me back to one of the first things I said was weird about Wells' meteoric rise. Remember what I said?"  
"About why he would pick Central City?"  
"No, about how was he able to start his company..."  
"Oh yeah. Where did he get the money?" Iris recalled.  
"Well I think the Thawne's funded Wells Bio," Iris tried not to let on that this was a theory she had herself proven by looking up the shell companies that funded Wells Bio and linking them to the Thawnes, only had thought the company was merely payment for an alibi she had no idea what Mason thought it meant until he continued, "I think Wells slash Thawne moved to Central City 15 years ago and strikes up an affair with an old high school friend, Nora Dawn. Only now she's Nora Allen so he tries to get her to leave her family Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan style, only just like Daisy, she won't. So in a fit of rage, he kills her. He stabbed 5 times," Mason had turned around to look at his board so he did not notice how Iris flinched at his words "Realising what he had done Wells realises he could go down for murder so he decides to use his real name at the police station. It is not unheard of that police officers and detectives in the CCPD are on the payroll for rich families so maybe one of them lets it slip that they have a Thawne in as a suspect for a murder. All of a sudden a lawyer from Gideon & Associates shows up with an alibi and Thawne walks free as a mourning mistress,"  
Iris sighs taking in all the information Mason just said and then asks "But why would the Thawnes help him out all of a sudden when they didn't care about him before?"  
"Well, 15 years ago the Thawnes were not unlike the Hiltons in the way they were constantly dealing with legal issues. They had just had a daughter that was arrested on her third DUI charge, another one dealing with a rape charge and Thawne Snr himself was dealing a conspiracy and corruption charge. See apparently he was using his company funds to pay for prostitutes and drugs. Having a little junior Eobard Thawne popping up as a murder suspect would definitely taint Thawne Snr's case so he pays to make it go away and then gives Wells money to start his company so he will remain quiet about the Thawne's involvement," Iris thought about how even though Mason's theory had some holes it is true that cases of conspiracy and corruption often come down to the public persona of the defendant. If Thawne Snr was seen as anything but a god-fearing family man during his trial it could have swayed the jury into handing out a guilty verdict. It would make sense that the Thawne's would pay to make sure that didn't happen.  
Iris still had questions so she said "Your theory explains what happened back then, it doesn't explain why Wells slash Thawne would help Thawne Snr now. It's not like they helped him escape being a suspect in a murder and that helps them rekindle their relationship as a family,"  
"You're right. Not unless the Thawnes have something on Wells that makes him do what they want," Mason takes a deep breath and says "I think the Thawnes have the murder weapon. The knife used to stab Nora was not found in the house when they found Nora dead and arrested Henry. The police looked for the knife around the house for days afterwards but never found it, it was the main hole in the prosecutor's case. See, I think the police did find the knife and the Thawnes paid for that police to give it to them or destroy it and make it seem like they never found it. Henry Allen was found with his wife's blood on his hands and the prosecutors made it seem like it was a perfect indication of a struggle but Henry's lawyers said that the blood was due to Henry trying to save his dying wife because he was a doctor. Henry had blood on him but he had no defensive wounds and it was thought that Nora put up a fight," The room went silent for a very long time while Iris thought about all that Mason was saying. Mason then asked her "What are you thinking about over there intern?"  
"Just that I guess then I would understand why Wells would feel like he has to help them cause they have evidence over him but them helping him was mutually beneficial. So if the truth had to come out of it they both would go down for it. It's mutually assured destruction,"  
"Yes and no. See if Thawne Snr was the one who actually bribed those cops then they would be no point in charging a man in a stroke coma, the Thawne reputation may take a hit but Wells would be going down for murder. So although the destruction would be mutual it would NOT be equal,"

Iris starts panicking realising all of what Mason just said. If this was all true not only was Barry interning for a murderer he was interning for the murderer who killed his mother. Iris was now no longer convinced that Wells hired Barry by coincidence. The only problem was why would Wells care enough to hire Barry? Did he feel sorry for him? Was it one of those 'keep your enemies close' type situations? It's not like Barry thought something was amiss about Wells. But then Iris thinks about how Barry had always thought his father was innocent, it was not a fact he often shared now that he was older but back when he was a child Barry made it clear he didn't think his father did anything wrong. But he was a child then and Barry was still so pure and sweet now. Barry looked up to Wells like an idol she couldn't let him get any closer to Wells than he already was. Iris made a decision then to call Barry and tell him what Mason had just told her, she knew that he didn't want her looking into it but she didn't Mason did. Iris took out her phone when Mason asked her "What are you doing?"  
"I'm just making a call quickly,"  
"To your boyfriend, Barry Allen?" Mason asked her casually.  
"Wait. How did y-"  
"Oh please. You, young people, are not subtle about your relationship status besides you didn't think I would go looking into the adult son of Nora Allen?" Mason sighed and then looked at Iris softly "You can't tell him about what I just told you,"  
"What? Why? Both of us think that Wells is a murderer. Not just any murderer but the one that killed his mother and you want me to keep it to myself?"  
"Yes. What I have right now is a theory. I don't have enough evidence just a whole bunch of connections. None of this would hold up in court or to public scrutiny. If we want Wells to go down for this we have to present a fully formed story with receipts, as you young people say,"

Iris thought about how helpless she felt, knowing what she did and thinking about how it would be 10 times worse for Barry, if he found out, especially how after he started making progress in moving on. The thought almost brought her to tears and she took a deep breath asked Mason "If you knew about Barry, why would you tell me this?"  
"You're a smart girl, Iris. You ask the right questions and seem to know how to make the right connections. This means you know as well as I that it's no coincidence that Wells hired your boyfriend. Something is going on over there. I have a theory but I need to do more research into it first. I need you to keep a lookout while I finish up this story," Mason said putting his hand on her shoulder. Iris noted how it was the first time Mason had used her actual name and even though it was supposed to be a comfort it only indicated to her just how serious this situation was.  
"Is there anything else I can do to help?" Iris asked.  
"Not right now. Just go home try to get some sleep and enjoy your early weekend with your boyfriend,"  
Iris stood up and said "Oh yeah like I'll be able to get any sleep after what you just told me. Aren't you going home though?"  
"Welcome to the life of a reporter. I don't go home until I feel like I have done enough to deserve sleep," Mason said drinking from his mug. Iris took note about how the coffee in that cup was probably cold by now but didn't say anything as she gathered her stuff to leave.

On her way out, Iris laughed to herself on how she thought this week was going to be boring.


	8. How much information is too much information (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iris visits Barry in Opal City for the weekend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I am getting good at writing longer chapters or maybe I just had a lot that I needed to be contained in this chapter. Either way. Enjoy :)

Iris knocked on Mason's office door "Mason, its Iris. Can I come in?"  
"Just a minute!" Mason yelled from the other side of the door.

Eventually, Mason opened the door and gestured for her to enter. Iris looked around his office and she saw that there were more paper stacks around his office than earlier. "How did this happen? I organised your research this morning?" Iris asked surprised.  
"Don't worry about it. I got a new lead about Wells and I had to find out about some stuff," Mason said casually stepping over papers on the ground  
"What did you find out?" Iris asked curiously.  
"Do you really want to know?" Mason asked with a raised eyebrow.  
"No," Mason folded his arms "I mean not right now. I'm on my way out to visit Barry and I don't want to have something more to lie about this weekend," Iris said her body filled with tension.  
"No one is asking you to lie, intern. All you have to do is not bring it up. Just remember that you are protecting him,"  
"It just feels wrong,"  
Mason's eyes softened "This thing we are doing is not going to be the first time you have to keep something from your partner. It's just the reporter game. You are going to have to learn to separate work from home life,"  
"Big talk from a guy who never goes home," Iris said folding her arms.  
"Well be better than me or do like I say not how I do. Whichever one works for you," Iris smiled and then Mason asked, "So, what did you want to talk about?"  
"Uhm, last night you said some crazy stuff about Wells slash Thawne and I was so busy processing what you were saying that I didn't get to telling you what I know," To be honest it had taken Iris all night to get to this point. The truth is that she told Barry she wouldn't look into his mother's murder but technically she wasn't Mason was. Iris knew that Mason was a great reporter, tenacious and that if anyone could get to the bottom of it, he could. Iris worried that nothing may come out of it for Barry and his father but she also knew that at least she had a heads up just in case it did go well. Iris also knew that Mason needed all the information she had so he could do his job well so that is why she said "I know for a fact that the owners of the shell company that fund Wells Bio are owned by the Thawnes,"  
"How do you know that?"  
Iris showed him the piece of paper in her hands which hand the logo of the shell companies "Because I have seen this symbol before, it's one that belongs to the Thawne family,"  
"Do you have any proof of that?"  
"I knew you were going to ask that," Iris then pulled out her phone and showed him a picture of her and Eddie at his family's home during the 4th of July weekend, behind them was a painting with a soldier that was carrying a flag with the same emblem on the flag. "It's the same logo for the shell company,"  
"Jeez. These guys didn't strain their necks coming up with a fake shell company,"  
"In their defence, I don't think they thought someone would try to link them to Wells," Iris said with a shrug.  
"Gotta love rich people when they get cocky, they get sloppy," Mason hands Iris back her phone and then asks "So you dated a Thawne, huh?"  
"Yeah. What are you surprised at how complicated my love life is?"  
"No. I was just surprised because the Thawnes are renowned racists,"  
"That would have been valuable information to know back then," Iris chuckles a bit.  
"Well have a nice time with your boyfriend, intern,"  
"Thanks, I will," Iris said as she left his office.

* * *

Iris stared at Barry's apartment door with her bag on the ground. She had driven for 8 hours to get here and she was nervous. She missed him terribly but she also knew what it would take to be around him this weekend. In the end, she had decided to just live in the moment with him all weekend long and not think about what was going on in the background. Iris took a deep breath in and got ready to knock when Barry opened the door to his apartment. He was dressed fully ready to leave so Iris was taken aback.

"Iris?" He asked shocked.  
"Yeah sorry I'm late. I didn't realise you had a place to be," She said looking him up and down again. He looked good. He was wearing dark jeans with his normal black converse and a black t-shirt with some Star Wars reference.  
"Iris I was coming to find you," He said as he grabbed her into a hug. Iris noted how he smelled so nice and relaxed into the hug, he continued "I was worried after I didn't hear from you for over two hours and I thought something might have happened," Barry grabbed Iris' bag and walked her into his apartment.  
While they took off their jackets, Iris explained "Oh my phone died and I didn't want to waste any time by stopping to charge it. Just so I can say that I was on my way," Iris put her hand on his face and he leaned into it "I'm sorry I worried you,"  
"It's fine now. You're here," He said smiling at her.  
They got lost in each other's gaze for a moment before Iris giggled "How were you planning on finding me?" she asked him moving more into the kitchen area of his apartment.  
"I don't know I was just going to go driving down the freeway until I saw you," Iris smiled as she drank the water she got out of the fridge.  
"That's sweet babe," she said to him with a smile on her face.

Barry walked over to her and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was slow at first and then it became more and more until Iris realised Barry had backed her up against the wall of his kitchen. She put her hands on his chest to steady him from progressing any further but she soon realised that was a mistake as the t-shirt he was wearing was not thick and she could feel him underneath it so she moved her hands to his arms on either side of her, trying to push them down only she brushed against his biceps and then she began to melt again. Iris moved her mouth from his and said "Bear, I just got here,"  
"Mmmm but I missed you and your taste," Barry murmured against her lips he was now biting at her lower lip and sucking on it, making it impossible for Iris to deny how wet she was now.

Iris moved her head but Barry continued kisses down her cheek and then the side of her lips and then her neck, causing Iris to moan. Iris could feel the smile on Barry's lips as he continued to nibble away on her neck. Iris grabbed the back of Barry's head as she scraped her nails through his hair, which caused a groan from Barry. He jolted himself and pinned her with his pelvis and Iris could then feel his hardness through his jeans. Barry returned his mouth to hers and she opened it further giving him access to her tongue of which caused her to lose all forms of resistance and pull him closer while wrapping one leg around him. Barry then promptly lifted her, to her surprise, which caused her to wrap her legs around his hips. Barry, held her up with one hand while he reached down with the other, awkwardly but quickly freeing himself already hard with heat and determination. Barry shifted her underwear to the side to put two fingers into, searching and stretching, making her moan low in her throat. He withdrew and asked, "Is this wetness all for me?" Iris couldn't form words all she could do was nod.

Lining himself up, he thrust completely into her, long and hard and feeling too good for words. He immediately set to conquer, almost without mercy and bare consideration. Iris closed her eyes at the magnificent sensation of the withdraw and attack of his dick against her walls. "Look at me, Iris," Barry's tone made Iris clinch around his hardness turned on by his voice which sounded gruff but full of confidence as he said her name.

"Uh..." Iris struggled to keep her eyes on his as he made sure to rub his dick repeatedly against her clit as he entered and withdrew.  
"I love you," Barry said as he continued his conquest, Iris looked into his eyes and saw it - love and lust.  
"I love you too Barry," Iris said sounding breathy. Barry then moved his mouth to suck at her neck again. Hard. She knew it would leave a bruise but, at the moment, she didn't mind.

Iris' eyes rolled back as she went over the edge. Her walls pulsing around him which made him speed up the snap of his hips as he came with a muffled groan against her neck. Barry withdrew from her gently but didn't put her down just yet. He kissed her everywhere he could see. Her eyes, her nose, her cheek and then a soft kiss on her lips.

* * *

Normally Barry wouldn't have to work on the weekends but he had to finish up some project for his mentor and needed to go into the office for a couple of hours. So he and Iris were making the effort of eating breakfast together. Made by Barry because Iris can do a lot of things but being able to cook was not one of them.

"Yeah you definitely have a hickey on your neck," Barry said to Iris with a smile on his face.  
Iris looked back at him unimpressed and asked "You like that don't you?"  
Barry lifted his hands and said "You got me. I like looking at you and seeing evidence of our sexy times," Iris smiled as Barry got up to put their dishes in the sink.  
Iris went over to start washing them, she smacked Barry's hands away as he tried to grab her waist "Barry, you're gonna be late for work,"  
"I know just one kiss before I leave?" Barry asked with earnest green eyes. Iris leaned up to kiss him, deliberately leaving her teeth closed to stop it from going any further and then pulled away. Barry had a pout on his face "That's hardly a kiss,"  
"Well, that's all you are getting until I see you later today,"  
"I will be the guy in the white lab coat,"  
"Won't there be a lot of guys in lab coats though? That sounds like fun," Barry looked at her with his eyes narrowed "I'm just teasing. Go, before you're late,"

Barry kissed her on the cheek and then left.

* * *

"Whoa," Iris said out loud as she looked up at the Wells Bio Building. It had to be at least 40 stories high. She remembers Barry mentioning it once but I guess it's one of those you have to see it for yourself situations.

Iris eventually stopped her gawking and walked into the building's lobby, she wondered if she should take a seat in the waiting area until Barry was done for the day but then she thought she should take her chances with the front desk and maybe she could see where Barry works in this huge ass building. Iris walks up to the front desk that has 3 receptionists, one of the receptionists is busy with a man she could only see the back of so she goes to the middle.

"Uhm, my name is Iris West. My boyfriend Barry Allen works here as an intern in one of the labs and I was wondering if you could tell me which floor it's on?"  
The receptionist looked at Iris appraisingly and asked "So you're the girlfriend?"  
Iris's eyes went wide "Wait, Barry told you about me?"  
"Of course. The boy arrived right on time to work on a Saturday and he was happy as could be. I was curious and then he told us his girlfriend was in town," She smiled at Iris and then continued "But I am sorry dear. I can't let visitors up the floors unsupervised, especially on the weekends. This is an important company. You understand?"  
Iris was disappointed but she understood "Yeah I get. I thought I would try my luck," as she made her way back to the waiting she heard someone call for her.  
"Miss West, I can accompany you upstairs," Iris turned to see who it was and was shocked to find out that it was Harrison Wells. She knew that face anywhere.  
"Mr Wells. That's unnecessary, I can wait down here,"  
"Oh no problem dear, I was going up to check up on Hunter and Barry's work," He gestured for her to follow him to the elevators. Iris wanted to stay where she was but then remembered how Mason told her it was important for her to act natural and to keep an eye out. And what better way to keep an eye out then to spend a few minutes with Harrison Wells.

Wells pushed the up button for the elevators and one opened up, so they got in together. They were heading to floor 28 apparently, it made Iris nervous that this wasn't going to be quick.

Iris and Wells in the elevator were opposites, while Iris reminds stick straight Wells leaned against the sidebar with ease written all over him. He eventually turned to her and asked "So have you and Barry been dating long?"  
"We just celebrated 6 months together," Iris said softly.  
"Ahh, that long huh?"  
"Well, some people would think that is short,"  
"I don't think it takes much to determine whether someone is meant to be in your life or not,"  
"You have someone in your life?" Iris asked trying to sound casual.  
"Oh no. I did once but that train has left for me long ago," Iris noted how he looked wistful.  
"Well, who knows maybe one day you are gonna meet a person who will spark your passion,"  
"I don't need anyone to spark my passion, Miss West. I'm already a pretty driven man, kind of like Barry," Iris felt the comparison was called for yet knowing the monster that lay within Wells and the soft nature of Barry, Iris was sure Wells had Barry wrong.  
"Well, your self-determination has gotten you quite far. This is an exquisite building. I always thought scientists didn't have dreams of answering to board members. I always thought that that was the similarity between artists and scientists," Iris said.  
"Well, luckily I don't have that issue. I own everything and answer to no one,"

Even though Wells had a smile on his face Iris could see the tension in his posture. She felt kind of triumphant that she could get a reaction out of him but before she could ask any more questions, the elevator stopped on the 28th floor "After you, Miss West," he gestured and she walked out the elevator. It didn't take them long to get to Barry as the lab that he was working in was the first one. Wells knocked on the door and opened it only to find Barry on his standing in front of what Iris could only describe as multiple test tubes of different sizes.

"Iris, hi, I know I'm late but-" Barry quickly stopped talking the minute he saw Wells and said "Dr Wells it's amazing to see you here,"  
"Well I wanted to check on you and Hunter to see how the experiment on the different particle matters was going," Wells was looking around the lab as if he was looking for something or someone. "Where's Dr Zolomon?" He asked Barry. Iris could see the frantic eyes of Barry as he tried to come up with an answer to wells. Barry rubbed the back of his neck but Wells didn't let him get anything out before he said "Considering Janet downstairs says that Hunter never came in today, I am guessing you are doing the experiment for him?" Barry nodded and ducked his head, Wells sighed and then said "That is unfortunate,"  
"I'm so sorry Dr Wells, I was just trying to do my best as an intern here,"  
"Don't worry Barry I am not mad at you but I am disappointed that you didn't report Hunter for his negligence. This can get our company in a lot of trouble if the major experiments we have been producing have been done by an intern who hasn't properly learnt the proper steps of real-life experimental work from a mentor at this company,"  
"Well I do know the steps of the company," Barry said with a bit of confidence.  
"Barry those steps are formulated carefully in a handbook that is 1000 pages long,"  
Barry nodded and said "I know. I read it,"  
Iris then chimed in "He did read it. I helped him colour coordinate it, for easy references,"

Wells looked from Barry to Iris and then put on an expression that Iris could only describe as impressed. "Well either Barry, I am going to need you to discontinue working on this experiment and give a list to my secretary on Monday of all the experiments you did in Hunter's stead,"  
"Yes Dr Wells, I will do that," Barry said eagerly, looking relieved cause he wasn't in trouble anyway.

* * *

"I hate to say it but I told you guys that you should complain to Dr Stein about your mentors being the worst," Caitlin said as she and Ronnie brought more drinks for the table. When Barry told Cisco about what happened at the labs, Cisco was determined to celebrate the prospect of Hunter getting fired. So Cisco, Caitlin and Ronnie joined Iris and Barry at a small bar near his apartment so they could drink to the news that Barry wouldn't have to do Hunter's work anymore.

"We know Cait," Cisco says.  
"I for one, am glad that Hunter might get fired," Ronnie said as everyone looked at him confused.  
"I thought only Barry had issues with Hunter?" Iris asked him.  
"Yeah but he was also always hitting on Cait," Ronnie said softly and everyone laughed. Iris saw how close Caitlin and Ronnie sat together and she could see how in sync they were when it came to dishing out snacks or ordering drinks for each other. Iris knew that that came from years of being together and Iris couldn't wait to be at that point with Barry.  
"What are you smiling at?" Barry asked her low enough that only she could hear.  
"Nothing. This is just nice,"  
"Well alright I have to go to the bathroom real quick," Barry shifted out of the booth and headed towards the bathroom.

Eventually, the group got into a conversation about who could replace Hunter if he did get fired or suspended and Ronnie wondered if all the work Barry did was going to be retracted or amended. Everyone agreed that if the work was sound then Wells would be an idiot to not just amend it, instead of starting over and retracting the experiments. Iris started to notice that Barry was taking a long time in the bathroom, she thought he could be doing a number 2 but she had a bad feeling in her stomach so she got up to go to the bathroom. 

"Oh wait Iris, let me go with you," Caitlin said as she got up from the booth as well.  
"You really don't have to," Iris said.  
"No, I do actually need to pee," Caitlin said.

Caitlin and Iris came to a stop once they got to the bathroom hallway, the door to the outside of the bar was open. "Is this supposed to be open?" Caitlin asked.  
"Nope," Iris went to the door to see if anyone was outside and that's when she saw him standing over Barry with a bat. It took a while for Iris to get over her shock and fear but she screamed and Caitlin came to see what was going on.   
When Caitlin saw who the assailant was she said "Hunter,"

* * *

"Iris, I'm okay," Barry said to Iris who was still tearing up and holding his hand in the hospital room.  
"How can you say that Barry? Look at you," Iris noticed how her voice came out shaky like she was crying.  
"I just have a concussion and two fractured ribs. It could have been a lot worse,"  
"Why would you say that?" Iris asked and shifted to be near him.  
"I just mean that I am still okay and Caitlin was able to deal with me until the ambulance arrived," Barry tried to shift to look at Iris and then winced, obviously in pain "Look you and Caitlin saw Hunter so you don't have to worry about it. They are gonna catch him and then he's not just going to get fired but he is going to go to jail," He grabbed her hand tighter and Iris felt a little better and then she got up. "Where are you going?" Barry asked.  
"Everyone is out there waiting to see you. Plus I promised your aunt I would call her with updates after the hospital contacted her,"   
"I hate that I worried her," Barry said looking guilty.  
"Bear, the people who love you will never feel burdened by you. Trust me," Iris said with a smile and then left to call Cisco, Caitlin and Ronnie in to see Barry.

* * *

Once Iris had gotten off the phone with Barry's aunt Susan she seemed convinced that he was fine, especially after Iris promised to stay with him an extra day even though he was getting released in a few hours, she also had to call her father and let him know of the change in plans. Iris then realised she should call Mason to let him know of her plan to stay an extra day with Barry. When she called him she only got his voicemail so she decided to leave a message "Hey, Mason it's Intern Iris. Iris West. My boyfriend got hurt earlier so I thought I would tell you of my plan to stay and take care of him for an extra day so I will probably only be at work on Tuesday," Iris looked around the almost empty hallway and then lowered her voice to say "Also, the man that attacked my boyfriend also worked for Harrison Wells. His name was Hunter Zolomon. I didn't tell the police this because I wasn't sure that I heard him right but now that I've had time to think about it. I think I heard Hunter say that Wells kept Barry around cause he needed his DNA. He used those exact words. Now I don't know for sure what that could mean but I think it has something to do with the experiment Barry was working on. There had to be a reason Wells was so adamant Barry not continue his work on it. It had something to do with stripping DNA into it's two inherent parts. I don't know who's DNA Wells could be wanting from Barry, Nora or Henry but I thought you should know. I am getting very concerned about Wells' proximity to Barry Mason. Please if you could do anything to speed up your investigation I will be forever grateful. Anyway thanks and bye," 

Iris took a long sigh against the wall. Should she have told the police about what Hunter said? Would it have mattered? It's not like anyone would have made the connection she did, to his statement. 

* * *

It was Monday night and Iris was finally arriving home from her trip. To be honest it was nice taking care of Barry. She had to move all of his groceries to a lower shelf so he wouldn't try to reach too high and hurt himself. It also meant that they had to be a tad bit more careful with sex, Barry got to touch without restraint but Iris was soft, trying not to hurt him too much. It was torture.

"Hey baby girl, you're back," Joe came to give Iris a hand with her bag and gave her a small hug.  
"Hey, dad. Yeah, I told you I would be back,"  
"Yeah but I know you were missing your friends and work has had you a bit stressed out so I thought maybe you would want to stay longer," Iris was touched that her dad was able to pick up on her stress without her having to say anything. He was the best.  
"Of course I wanted to stay longer but I also am an adult who needs to get to work," Iris and her father were now in her room. Iris noticed how her dad lingered at her doorway and then asked "Is there something you want to say, dad?"  
"Uhm yeah. Sit down baby girl," Iris started to get nervous but her dad then said "I have news for you, but first I wanted to ask you a question," Iris nodded for him to continue and he asked, "Have you spoken with Mason Bridge at all this weekend?"  
"Not directly, but I did leave him a voicemail, telling him that-" Iris hesitated  
"Telling him that?" Her dad asked.  
"Telling him that I was going to be taking Monday off," Iris said, it wasn't a lie but it wasn't the whole truth.  
"Well that message did get through because the people at your office knew you were in Opal City but I am talking about afterwards,"  
"No, I only left him that one message. Why?" Iris asked.

"Iris honey." Joe hesitated and then said "Mason Bridge is missing,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Iris has a decision to make about whether she is going to continue with Mason Bridge's research into Wells/Thawne. Iris has to decide if she is going to break her promise to Barry, to bring the truth to light and stop all the hurt. But it can't just be her on the case so get ready for a team-up featuring Arrowverse favourites.
> 
> I also think that I am going to do future chapters jumping between Barry and Iris in the same chapter so let me know if you feel like that could be too much.
> 
> You know the show never showed us what happened to Mason Bridge. I mean we know Thawne killed him but I was just curious after finishing up this chapter.
> 
> As always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated🤘🏼


End file.
